Through the Windows of an Ordinary House: A History of England

This intimate portrait of a thousand-year sweep of England’s history that – through the architectural prism of one ordinary house – conjures up the lives of the long dead and offers insights into a seemingly unfathomable past. An intriguing and compelling book

Dan Cruickshank, author of The English House

This endlessly fascinating book tells the story of England from the inside out, giving full expression to the often neglected ordinary people who lived through the vagaries of royal will, rebellion, prosperity and hardship. A wealth of exquisite period details and vivid descriptions immerse the reader in an extraordinary house and its community over the course of almost 2,000 years. A must for history lovers everywhere

Tracy Borman, author of The House of Boleyn

To understand England, you do not necessarily need to travel everywhere. Sometimes one very old house is enough. In Through the Windows of an Ordinary House, Ian Mortimer brilliantly tells the story of England through the lens of a single house, his own at Mearsdon Manor, on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon. By tracing the lives of those who lived there, from the 13th-century priest who was pardoned for murder to the woolcomber in the 1600s who carved his initials into its wooden beams, he reveals how great national events such as the Black Death, the English Civil War, and the world wars shaped ordinary lives. Richly researched and engagingly written, this fascinating book reminds us that the history living quietly within the walls of many seemingly unassuming homes is anything but ordinary

Andrew Ziminski, author of Church Going