Dr Jane Whittle is a graduate of Manchester and Oxford Universities. She was appointed as a lecturer in economic and social history at Exeter University in 1995, and has since been promoted to associate professor in history. Her main area of interest is the history of everyday life in late medieval and early modern rural England and she has published on economic development, the land market, popular rebellion, servants, and women's work.Dr Elizabeth Griffiths graduated from the University of East Anglia in 1987. After a teaching career, she was appointed a Research Fellow at Exeter University in 2003 to work with Dr Jane Whittle on Lady Alice Le Strange. This was followed by a further Research Project with Prof. Mark Overton on Sharefarming in England. Her main interests lie in all aspects of early modern farming and estate management, particularly the role of women.

The authors are ... mining a rich seam, within which they find some real gems. ... the analysis is impressive and the book has much to offer the local historian as well as those interested in consumption and the gentry household.

• 1. Issues and Context ; 2. Household Management ; 3. The Acquisition of Goods ; 4. Everyday Consumables ; 5. Material Culture ; 6. Family Life-Cycle and Consumption ; 7. Elite Consumption ; 8. The Employment of Labour ; 9. Conclusion ; Bibliography

Dr Jane Whittle is a graduate of Manchester and Oxford Universities. She was appointed as a lecturer in economic and social history at Exeter University in 1995, and has since been promoted to associate professor in history. Her main area of interest is the history of everyday life in late medieval and early modern rural England and she has published on economic development, the land market, popular rebellion, servants, and women's work.Dr Elizabeth Griffiths graduated from the University of East Anglia in 1987. After a teaching career, she was appointed a Research Fellow at Exeter University in 2003 to work with Dr Jane Whittle on Lady Alice Le Strange. This was followed by a further Research Project with Prof. Mark Overton on Sharefarming in England. Her main interests lie in all aspects of early modern farming and estate management, particularly the role of women.

The authors are ... mining a rich seam, within which they find some real gems. ... the analysis is impressive and the book has much to offer the local historian as well as those interested in consumption and the gentry household.

• 1. Issues and Context ; 2. Household Management ; 3. The Acquisition of Goods ; 4. Everyday Consumables ; 5. Material Culture ; 6. Family Life-Cycle and Consumption ; 7. Elite Consumption ; 8. The Employment of Labour ; 9. Conclusion ; Bibliography