{"product_id":"9781847928160","title":"PRE-ORDER NOW Through the Windows of an Ordinary House: A History of England by Ian Mortimer","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e PRE-ORDER NOW - Published: 17\/09\/2026 \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis book tells the story of Mearsdon, the house where Ian Mortimer lives in Moretonhampstead, on the edge of Dartmoor. We very rarely have a continuous account of a particular place over a long stretch of history, but Mortimer has a documentary record of all the owners who lived there since the 1260s - although the origins of the building probably date back to the eleventh century.   Blending the broadest national history and the most intimate local events with a description of changing daily life from the Norman Conquest to the present day, Mortimer acquaints us with the people who passed through the house - from its first known owner, John the Palmer, to the folklore collector Charlie Laycock, who turned the house into a museum in the early twentieth century, to Mortimer's family living there today. And along the way he shows how national events - from the Black Death to the Prayerbook Rebellion, from the Civil Wars to the two world wars - affected a rural community in deepest Devon over a time span of 900 years.   The result is fascinating social history like no other. Bringing to it the brilliant imagination and storytelling gifts that made his Time Traveller's Guides such a huge success, Mortimer introduces us to lords and merchants, ale brewers and peasants, clergymen and murderers, to create a continuously evolving story. Seeing through its windows, we not only glimpse at the people who lived in the house over the ages; we also see through their eyes as they look out at the changing world around them. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56369336648053,"sku":"9781847928160","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781847928160.jpg?v=1763553036","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/9781847928160","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}