The Founding by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Sweeping historical family sagas have always been a favorite of mine;I plowed through John Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles when I was still in middle school! Now I've found a new fictional family to follow through history, The Morlands from a fictional village in Yorkshire, England. In The FoundingCynthia Harrod-Eagles introduces us to orphan Eleanor Courtenay and wool merchant Robert Morland who are betrothed by a contract between her guardian and his father in 1434.

For Eleanor, life with her grim and gruff widowed father-in-law and mild-mannered husband is not what she might have chosen for herself. Although Robert is kind, his father Edward rules the home as well as the business, and Eleanor's efforts in organizing the household and staff are thwarted at every turn.The Foundingtakes readers through Eleanor's entire life, which is very long for this era, and her encounters with important historical figures of the age, including Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, and his two sons Edward IV and Richard III of England. In her personal life Eleanor gives birth to more than ten children, encourages the expansion of the Morland wool business, and brings about the building of a new home which will become the great Morland Hall. Robert and Eleanor's sons go out into the world as soldiers during the Wars of the Roses, courtiers in London, and apprentices and scholars at grand homes. In addition to the "womanly arts" their daughters are educated in reading, writing, and mathematics, along with languages.
The Foundingis the first in a more than 30-book series following the Morland family through England's triumphs and tragedies as their own fortunes rise and are imperiled. I greatly enjoy reading about historical events from the perspective of a person who was there, but not a key player in events. It's especially interesting to me to read about the daily life of a large manor, the food eaten, clothes worn, and amusements of those who live there. In The Founding, and the other Morland books I've read, the details of how things were done are fascinating, such as placing guests for a meal at court, and where the salt is set on the table, bringing about the description of a person as "below the salt".

The Founding is the perfect title for the story of Robert and Eleanor. Although they were not pioneers starting out with nothing, until Eleanor came along the Morlands were simply two men raising sheep for their wool and living in a dark, dirty house with a few servants who went about their days with no direction. With Eleanor's ideas and support, Robert is able to build his business, acquire more land, and found what will become a wide-spread, influential English family.
In addition to enjoying Eleanor's family story and the historical information, I was very excited that the book has a family tree at the front, to which I often referred while reading. On Cynthia Harrod-Eagles website she has all of the family trees for each novel, as well as a hand-drawn map of the Morlands' fictional world, which I printed out to look at while reading. Her website is fascinating with information on her research and the factual places she melded to create the Morland home and environs.
Official FTC Disclosure: I received no compensation for this review, other than an advance copy from Sourcebooks.