Product Description

This social history records the daily life of the English people from the time of the Norman Conquest to our own. Based on diaries, letters, memoirs, official reports, the works of modern social historians and the literature of every period, it traces the development of English society over 900 years. The chapters range over life in the castles, palaces and monasteries, in the homes of rich merchants and in the hovels of peasants, describing the work and play of the inhabitants, their clothes, food and possesions, their servants and animals, their pleasures and suffering, their beliefs and attitudes, their schools, fairs, shops and markets, hospitals and prisons, theatres and churches, farms and factories, taverns and brothels covering every aspect of medieval and modern life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20685 in Books
• Published on: 1988-10-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 800 pages

About the Author
Christopher Hibbert was described by Professor Sir John Plumb as a 'writer of the highest ability' and by the 'New Statesman' as 'a pearl of biographers'. He is our leading popular historian whose works reflect meticulous scholarship. His much-acclaimed books include 'The Destruction of Lord Ralgan', 'The Court at Windsor, London' and 'Rome: Biography of a City'.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating
It took me three months to read it but I savoured every page. The early chapters on life in Medieval Britain were astonishing. Hibbert manages to weave every aspect of daily life from latrines and how much booze people drank to moral values and underwear across a huge span of history - seamlessly. It really is about life rather than events and dates. A great present for anyone who has even the smallest interest in history.

Test of Time
This marvelous social history has stood the test of time for me. I purchased the book when it first was published in 87, and still frquently pull it down for reference or for pleasure. I read it straight through upon first receiving it. Thoroughly entertaining and informative.

Absolutely Brilliant
Hibbet is a fantastic writer, his books are very accessible because they focus on the Social History of his subject. He draws heavily on eyewitness accounts diaries, letters etc to give the reader a real flavour of what life was like in the past. This book makes facscinating reading to all with a vague interest in their past and is relevant to all, not just the English (I'm Scottish. Buy it, it is worth every penny.