Ralph Houlbrooke's major study has made a vital contribution to debates on the family. Drawing on a wealth of colourful and often intimate evidence, including letters, diaries and witness statements in court cases, he reveals the attitudes and aspirations of all levels of society and challenges the fashionable notion that the years between 1450xxx;1700 saw major changes in family structure.
'thorough and informed, a fine basis for any study of English family life.'
The Ricardian
Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction. 2. Enduring pattern and forces of change. 3. Family and kindred. 4. The making of marriage. 5. Husband and wife. 6. Parents and children: infancy and childhood. 7. Parents and children: adolescence and beyond. 8. Death and the broken family. 9. Inheritance. 10. Conclusion. Select bibliography of secondary works. Index.