The Pastons: A Family in the Wars of the Roses [Paperback]

Richard Barber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 1999

Within three generations (1426 to 1485), and through the dark and dangerous years of the Wars of the Roses, the Pastons established themselves as a family of consequence, both in their native Norfolk and within court circles. Ambitious and highly mobile - womenfolk as well as men -they kept in touch by correspondence, usually but not invariably through the medium of a clerk. These letters, a rare survival, break upon us across the centuries with the urgency, and sometimes the violence,of their preoccupations: defending property, fighting court cases, making the right alliances, and, on the domestic side, managing their estates, conducting their courtships, stocking their cupboards. Selected and presented here with Richard Barber's invaluable linking narrative, they bring the middle ages triumphantly to life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Richard Barber's attractive selection, originally published by the Folio Society, well deserves this more accessible reissue. The letters are presented in modernised form with spare but informative linking commentary, and the volume is ideal both for the `ordinary reader' and for medievalists for whom a friendly acquaintance with the Pastons is a sufficient substitute for linguistic or historical scholarship. The selection conveys well their recurrent concerns with land, money, civil violence, flirtation, marriage and the purchase of ginger and lace. MEDIUM AEVUM

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Boydell Press (April 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851153380
• ISBN-13: 978-0851153384
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,371,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)