The second volume of A History of Private Life is a treasure trove of rich and colorful detail culled from an astounding variety of sources. This absorbing 'secret epic' constructs a vivid picture of peasant and patrician life in the eleventh to fifteenth centuries. Georges Duby, a member of the Academie Francaise, is Professor of Medieval History at the College de France. He is the general editior (with Michelle Perrot) of A History of Woemn.
