by Ric Berman (Author) The 2016 Prestonian Lecture - Foundations, new light on the formation and early years of the Grand Lodge of England - explores the evolution of freemasonry from the mid-fourteenth century through to the creation of the first Grand Lodge of England. Ric Berman challenges old Masonic myths, explains the interconnections between Freemasonry, Grand Lodge and Britain's new Hanoverian government, and outlines how and why its leaders positioned the Craft as a bastion against the Jacobite followers of James Stuart - 'the king over the water'. The book provides a context for the tercentenary of the formation of the Grand Lodge of England - the world's first grand lodge. Author Biography Dr Richard (Ric) Berman is the author of The Foundations of Modern Freemasonry; Schism, a discussion of the origins of Antients Freemasonry; and Espionage, Diplomacy & the Lodge, which shines new light on the British Secret Service. Ric's work on American freemasonry includes Loyalists & Malcontents, now in its second edition, which looks at the origins of freemasonry in South Carolina and Georgia; and From Roanoke to Raleigh, which offers a fresh take on how freemasonry developed in North Carolina. Ric holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Cambridge and a Doctorate in History from the University of Exeter. He continued his research at the University of Oxford's Modern European History Research Centre and is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes University. Ric was appointed Prestonian Lecturer for 2016 and his lecture - published and now in its second edition, sets the context for the 300th anniversary of the Grand Lodge of England. Born in London, Ric lives with his family in South Oxfordshire. Number of Pages: 156 Dimensions: 0.36 x 8.5 x 5.5 IN Publication Date: June 04, 2017