Books in the Shire Living Histories series

1066 is perhaps the most important date in English history. The elite Normans themselves brought England much closer to Continental Europe, and brought in novel styles of military training. This title explores their lifestyle and the ways in which they interacted with the Anglo-Saxon English as they changed the face of the country forever.

For nearly four centuries, Britain served as the western border of the Roman Empire. Covering various aspects of Roman British life from family, food, religion, and travel, this book allows the reader to discover what it was like to be a citizen of the greatest empire in the world, while at the same time living near the edge of the map.

In the 1930s Britain experienced an economic crisis, with high unemployment, wage cuts, benefit cuts and a deterioration in living standards. It was a decade noted for its austerity. Yet industrial output saw remarkable growth between 1935 and 1938. This title provides a portrait of this decade in British social history.

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a profound change swept across Britain. The rapid advance of technology increased industrial productivity to a level previously unimaginable. To support this technology, people flocked from the countryside into the cities to take jobs in the factories. This book helps you discover about their lives.

The Tudor period was a time of massive social change in England with growing cities, increasing trade, and growing stability after the chaos of the Wars of the Roses. This title offers insight into the world of Tudor England - revealing what it was really like to live in a period of great growth.

How does a society recover from a devastating war? This title uncovers the hardships and stresses of the age, strains which manifested in the general strike of 1926. It offers insights into the difficult time period for Britain and the people tasked with its recovery.

In a period marked by a number of great diarists, England after the Civil War was a place of pleasure and drama. This book offers insights into the real, daily lives of those living in the period: work that was done, food that was eaten and leisure activities that were pursued.

Mid-Georgian Britain was a period of elegance and desperation. As the middle and upper classes enjoyed their wealth with various consumer goods, the poor endured debtor's prison and an increasing number of crimes with the death penalty. This title looks at the importance of London as a capital city where the rich and poor rubbed shoulders.

"Anglo-Saxon Britain: 400-699".

World War II affected every aspect of life on the British home front. From food rationing to air-raid shelters to war work, those left at home had to make huge changes in their day-to-day lives as Britain mobilised, economised, and saved in the name of Victory. This title looks at what these changes actually meant for families.

The middle years of Queen Victoria's reign saw huge social changes, with the rise of the middle classes, the introduction of compulsory education and the growth of the labour movement. This title explains how these changes affected family life in Britain.

"Early Eighteenth-century Britain: 1700-1729".

The 1960s was a defining decade for Great Britain. This book offers an account of life in the 1960s which explores the impact of these political and cultural trends on the ordinary people of Britain.