In 1918 the English husband and wife team of H.C.B and Marjorie Quennell published the first volume in what would become a 4 volume history of England for "children", but appealing to adults as well. Each chapter roughly corresponds to a century of history from the 12th through the 19th, with volume one covering the 12th through 15th (1066-1499). Each chapter follows the same format, examining certain aspects of day to day life tracking the progression of change (and continuity) over time. Aspects examined in each century include: Costume (clothes), Castles and Houses, Churches, Ships, Toys, Games, Warfare, Food, Mills, Transportation. Marjorie was also an illustrator and the artwork, reminiscent of David Macaulay's Cathedral and Castle, is a big part of what makes the series so appealing.

The books were popular and used in classrooms in Britain and the US from the 1920s up until the early 1960s. Today they are outdated, but retain a charm that modern history books are missing. To give a sense of the books style here is a quote about clothing in the 13th century:

"Our coloured plate shows what people looked like, and their houses and churches were splashed about with the three primary colors of red, blue, and yellow, with a little golden thrown in, and this continued right down till the end of the eighteenth century. It was only in Victorian times we became dismal and clothed ourselves in drab, -- perhaps this accounts for the merriness of Old England, because it really is quite impossible to be dull if you are garbed like a cheerful parrot."

Impossible to publish today, but impossible to dislike.

I recommend these excerpts from Vol I (1066-1499) as the best:

*Norman Castle, page 11-20
*Benedictine Monastery, page 27-37
*13th C Manor House, page 76-83
*14th C Castle and House 113-131
*Carthusian Monastery 171-177

Copies are freely available online at Internet Archive. I also created a Wikipedia page which links to further information about the Quennell's.

--Review by Stephen Balbach, via CoolReading (c) 2008 cc-by-nd ( )

My father's comment on this book was that it was old but reliable; if it showed you a picture and said it was an Anglo-Norman whatsit, it really was an Anglo-Norman whatsit.

excellent, irreplaceable resource. too bad it is out of print or i would order it by the dozen. ( )