THIS is a History of Everyday Things in England, from the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 down to the end of the eighteenth century, and it has been written for boys and girls of public-school age. It is an account of the work of the people, rather than the politics which guided them. Now as to why it has been done. In the first place, anything which helps to give us a picture of bygone times must make the history of the period more interesting, and we cannot have a picture without a background to it. It is only fair to our characters in history that we set our stage for them as well as we can; provide them with the proper costumes and setting; give them adequate background, against which they can strut and play their part, and make their bow to us before they go. Now by adequate background we do not mean just the pictorial interest of any setting; we want as well to know how they passed their time; the sort of work they did, the things they used.