Everyday Life in Roman and Anglo Saxon Times

Everyday Life

by Marjorie Quennell, C.H.B. Quennell

Quennell, Marjorie And C.H.B., Everyday Life In Roman And Anglo-Saxon Times

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Medieval

236 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Marjorie (Courtney) Quennell (1884–1972) was a British historian, illustrator and museum curator.

Reviews

[Hank Hoeft · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nowadays, there are a plethora of nonfiction books aimed at elementary and middle school-aged children--over-sized paperbacks loaded with photos and illustrations--such as those published by Usborne Books. Everyday Life in Roman & Angl0-Saxon Times, one of a series of four different volumes first published in the 1920s, is a forerunner of these modern nonfiction children's books. It is loaded with excellent black-and-white line drawings, and a few full-color plates, and endeavors to give a sense of what England was like for regular people in the time period covered. However, I did find the coverage was heavy on archaeological findings; I wish the Quennells would have spent more words describing what it was actually like to live day-to-day, than to discuss, say, the architectural details of Roman and Anglo-Saxon churches.

[Jill Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was first published in 1959, so it's as fascinating an insight into the Britain of the late 1950s as it is into the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods it sets out to describe. Although much of the content seems mind-bogglingly dated now, partly because archaeology has increased our understanding of the ancient world in so many ways, in reading books like this I am also powerfully struck by how much has knowledge has also been lost - not, perhaps, by experts who really know their stuff, but by the average man/woman/boy/girl who no longer knows any Latin - or thinks they should - or has been taught about how Roman engineers surveyed the landscape to build their roads! In particular it annoys me when today's TV presenters imply that our immediate forebears were woefully ignorant about history, or - worse - that they went out of their way to suppress uncomfortable truths. For example I have recently heard it said on TV that we have only recently learned of the presence of non-Italian immigrants in Roman Britain, and also that the history of black Africans in ancient Britain was 'covered up'.

Perhaps if I quote the last paragraph of this 1959 book it may help to redress the balance a little: 'England has welcomed many men. The men of the Old Stone Age; the Mediterranean men of the New Stone Age; and the Celts. Rome and her legionaries brought blood from all over Europe. Then came the Angles, Saxons and Jutes... Age after age the soil of our island has attracted men; here they have lived and, dying, their bones or ashes have turned into the soil of England... It may well be that England will go forward just so long as their courage and love of adventure are not allowed to be swamped by the vulgar chaffering of the market place.'

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

How Romans lived toward the end of the Roman period, especially in what is now Western Europe. This work is very informative with good illustrations.

[Jennie Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are wonderful! Lots of information about housings and artifacts from the time. Not too much about customs or historical events. There was also a lot of commentary on the morals (or lack thereof) of the pagan Romans and Anglo-Saxons, as many books written for children in this period like to include. But good information nonetheless, I definitely learned a lot!

[Susan Olesen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh lordy - where to start? Way too out of date (1959), way too scholarly, they expect you to be very familiar with their myriad other titles, and expect that you already read Latin. If you don't, they do not translate. It speaks very little about daily life, but covers much of Roman warfare and way too much about the early church. It speaks with disdain of the "Barbarian" peoples like Goths, Vikings, Saxons, Angles, and Britons, and thinks only Romans and Christians were good people. Much of the material has been updated, and Ferguson's The Vikings is both a better book, better written, and covers much of the same material more in depth. Its only saving grace is that it is short, and the shortness is even shorter because of @ 30 pages of drawings. Unless you're a PhD in Early British History, do yourself a favor and skip this.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 3 out of 5]

As long as you keep in mind this was first published in 1959, you'll be fine. I'm fond sometimes of reading older books, as it's interesting to see how views have changed based on new discoveries. The authors reference their other titles throughout this book, which I found helpful because I'm interested in reading those now as well. If you're already familiar with the era, you won't learn anything new, but still a fun little read.

[Sea · Rating 3 out of 5]

(I've only read the first half, about the Romans) Out-dated now, and probably today's kids in the age bracket it was written for wouldn't like it at all, but I did! It's straightforward and fun, and has a sort of "How cool were those Romans!" attitude that I appreciate.