The Early Modern Age [antikvár]

This book has been designed chiefly for pupils aged about thirteen or fourteen, that is, those in their third year at secondary ^chooT. Great care has been taken to keep the language clear and simple. As an aid to clarity, and in the hope of stimulating genuine interest and understanding, somé topics are given a more generous allocation of space than is customary in a book of this kind. It is felt that most pupils derive little benefit from a brief and superficial coverage of history, however necessary an overall picture of the period may be. As far as possible social and economic topics have been fitted into the chronological framework. In this way the flow of events- their causes and effects-may be better understood. At the same time somé reference has been made to world and, in particular, European events in order to avoid a narrowly based 'British' view of the subject. At best, generál textbooks are a springboard for more thorough study. Consequently this book is offered not as a course in itself but as a focus for a course, giving shape and direction to pupils' studies. It is assumed that teachers will want to use all kinds of additional material with their classes, and to this end it is hoped that the 'More about . . .' sections following each chapter will prove helpful. In this connection it should be noted that most of the books recommended are for pupils; only in certain cases did the scarcity of such material force the author to suggest a more advanced work. Most of the suggestions for follow up work have been tried and tested by the author in the classroom but it is not claimed that they are either ideál or comprehensive in their coverage of the topic. I would like to thank Roger Lockyer and Richárd Cootes for their advice in the final preparation of this manuscript and Jean Snellgrove for help and hard work beyond the call of wifely duty. L. E. SNELLGROVE 1972