Private Life in the Fifteenth Century: : Illustrated Letters of the Paston Family

New York: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1989. first American edition. hardcover. Book VG+: clean, square, unmarked, tight/DJ VG+: touch of shelf wear, clean, unclipped.. 8vo 288pp. from front flap: "Throughout the fifteenth century the Pastons were a family on the make--accumulating property and jostling for power and patronage. They were soldiers and students, lawyers and landowners, courtiers and members of parliament. This comprehensive collection of family letters and documents spans three generations of a Norfolk family during one of the most turbulent periods of English history. It provides a unique insight into a country on the cusp of medieval and modern history, as the ancient structures of feudalism collapsed and England was divided by the Wars of the Roses. [. . .] In this fresh selection, made by the medieval historian Dr Roger Virgoe, the letters are newly edited into accessible English and are illustrated to give the reader a window on the world of the fifteenth century. Contemporary illustrations and current photographs relate the people to the places where they lived. Special features expand issues raised in the correspondence. They bring history to life by taking you inside a fifteenth-century home or prison, by describing the concerns of rural life or the role of religion, by itemising the daily concerns of a housewife, or by commenting on fifteenth-century attitudes to love, sex, marriage, learning and the law." #02439.