Contrasting Communities

This is a paperback edition of Margaret Spufford's history of three contrasting communities in eastern England from 1525 to 1700. It is the first book in English to attempt to portray the educational opportunities and religious convictions of the villagers of this period, as well as their economic situation. Dr Spufford has examined every class of record which bears upon these themes. She makes contact with village people of the past as full human beings and uses them as witnesses on the larger canvases of economic, social and educational history, to discuss problems of the widest historical significance.