There are certain names which are familiar, as names, to all mankind; and every person who seeks for any degree of mental cultivation, feels desirous of informing himself of the leading outlines of their history, that he may know, in brief, what it was in their characters or their doings which has given them so widely-extended a fame. Consequently, great historical names alone are selected; and it has been the writer's aim to present the prominent and leading traits in their characters, and all the important events in their lives, in a bold and free manner, and yet in the plain and simple language which is so obviously required in works which aim at permanent and practical usefulness. This volume is dedicated to Queen Elizabeth.

Бүх хүн төрөлхтөнд өөрийнх нь нэр мэт танил болсон зарим нэрс байдаг билээ. Зохиолчийн гол зорилго нь тэдний дүрийн онцлох, тэргүүлэх шинж чанарууд, тэдний амьдралд тохиолдсон бүх чухал үйл явдлуудыг зоримог, чөлөөтэй, гэхдээ уран зохиолд зайлшгүй шаардлагатай энгийнээр харуулах явдал байв. Энэ ном бол хатан хаан Элизабетад зориулагдсан болно.