Family Ties

r s1mily Ties provides a vivid and accessible introduction to the dynamics of life in English families of all ranks from the mid-sixteenth century to the end of World War I. Sections on methods, approaches and sources allow readers new to the study of the past to explore some of the historian's fundamental concerns: cause and effect; continuity and change and the nature and reliability of evidence. The chronological and thematic organization of the book enables readers to examine a number of sub-themes such as the history of childhood or of marriage. Combining extensive contemporary quotations and an unusual variety of illustrations with a wide range of written and material sources, the book provides a fascinating insight into the history of the family and encourages the reader to become a sceptical and imaginative investigator, prepared to venture beyond the historian's traditional documentary sources.

Mary Abbott

1. Approaches to the history of the English family 2. England 1540-1920 3. The Families of Landowners 4. Plain Folk: The Families of Farmers and Craftsmen 5. Middle-class Families 6. The Inarticulate: The Families of the Labouring Poor 7. The Lower Middle Classes: The Families of Blackcoated Workers 8. A Visitor's Guide to the Sources