In this highly researched and comprehensive book, the author argues for
Coventry's Roman past, long doubted, and explores its Saxon roots as
home to the monastic houses of St Osburg. He throws new light on Leofric
and Godiva, including their involvement in the foundation or endowment
of St Mary's Priory, and using recent excavation work he reveals the
most up-to-date ideas on its appearance and its destruction. The city's
later medieval past is explained in detail, including its rise to power
in the Wars of the Roses, when the royal court moved to the city, and
the connection with Henry VI and his cult. Details of the imprisonment
of Mary, Queen of Scots, are given for the first time, while previously
unused documents are used to tell the real story of life in
Parliamentary Coventry and its famous Siege.Every aspect of daily life
in the city is described in the well-illustrated narrative - how
Coventry folk earned their living, from weaving to motor-cars, their
health, education, religious life, entertainments and crime and
punishment. No one who knows the city can fail to be intrigued by this
classic book. It is a fund of fascinating information and has become the
standard work on Coventry.