English historian James Froude studied at Oxford University, where for a time he fell under the influence of the religiously motivated Oxford movement. Eventually he left Oxford and went to London, where he formed a close friendship with Thomas Carlyle. A vigorous Protestant nationalist, Froude was sympathetic to Henry VIII but highly critical of Elizabeth I. Among the best known of Froude's many works is his 12-volume The History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada (1856-70). Written in a style that was both refined and fluent, it represented the first detailed account of this period of English history.