One of the most important sources of historical information is the things people wrote at the time, not just about a paricular event but also in letters and plays, in shopping lists and inventories, even on tomb stones.

In Their Own Words brings together some of the wealth of this primary source material in historical anthologies to reveal the everyday lives of the men and women who lived through a particular era.

Each book is made up of a selection of writing, in a variety of text genres and of different lengths, grouped thematically (e.g. religion, childhood, etc). The extracts are linked together by a straightforward text, giving each extract its context and pointing out its significance.

Footnotes at the bottom of each page are used to explain difficult words.

The books are illustrated throughout with black and white line.

Tudors looks at England and its neighbours between 1500-1603; Victorians considers 19th century Britain and its expanding empire.