Anne Clifford, in her Great Books of Record, places herself within the dynamic 600 year history of the Clifford family. This book is unique, and includes a wide variety of records that provide a view, unbroken for centuries, into life on the Clifford estates in England (as well as the borders of Wales, Ireland and Scotland) and the family's involvement at the centre of political life.Here we glimpse the lives of simple widows, traders, farmers and labourers juxtaposed with the adventures of soldiers, lords and ladies, princes and princesses. We see how rebellions, crusades and foreign wars impacted both the great and the humble, and we witness changes in the practices of justice and custom. In this book, Anne Clifford asserts the centrality of women to the success of the Clifford and other noble families, including the monarchy. She writes herself into this history, asserting her own rights to govern the lands of her father after her decades-long inheritance dispute. Her composition of the Great Books draws upon medieval traditions and early modern scholarship, and builds upon these through the inclusion of biographies of all the Clifford lords and ladies, along with an extended biography of her mother Margaret Russell and her own autobiography, 'The Life of Mee'.Those interested in the lives of medieval and early modern women, changes in culture, the effect of the political upon individuals, and the inspiring life of Anne Clifford will find this a rich and rewarding book.

Introduction1. Robert de Veteripont and Idonea de Builli2. The last Veteripont lords, Sibilla Ferrers, and Isabella Fitz Geoffrey3. Isabella and Idonea de Veteripont4. The early Cliffords of Herefordshire5. Roger de Clifford III and Isabella de Veteripont6. Robert, 1st Lord Clifford, and Maud de Clare7. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Lords Clifford, Isobel Berkeley, and Euphamia Neville8. Roger, 5th Lord Clifford, and Maud Beauchamp9. Thomas, 6th Lord Clifford and Elizabeth Roos10. John, 7th Lord Clifford and Elizabeth Percy11. Thomas, 8th Lord Clifford and Joan Dacres12. John, 9th Lord Clifford 'The Butcher Lord' and Margaret Bromflete13. Henry, 10th Lord Clifford 'The Shepherd Lord', Anne St. John, and Florence Pudsey14. Henry, 11th Lord Clifford and First Earl of Cumberland, Margaret Talbot, and Margaret Percy15. Henry, 12th Lord Clifford, Second Earl of Cumberland, Eleanor Brandon, and Margaret Dacre16. George, 13th Lord Clifford, Third Earl of Cumberland and Margaret Russell17. Anne Clifford, Baroness Clifford, Countess Dowager of Dorset, Pembroke, and Montgomery18. A Summary of the Records and a True Memoriall of the Life of Mee, the Lady Anne Clifford19. Thomas Tufton, 6th Earl of Thanet, and Baron CliffordAppendix: genealogical tablesGlossaryBibliographyIndex