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Adrian Tinniswood describes the ordinary 17th century lives of an extraordinary family, the Verneys.

To his Buckinghamshire neighbors, Sir Francis Verney was an ordinary country squire until he walked out on his teenage bride. He kept on going until he reached Algeria, where he became a Barbary Coast pirate. His brother Sir Edmund, who succeeded him, left behind a mountain of debt and ten children who struggled through relationships, deaths, and 17th century political turmoil.

Tinniswood presents the story of this remarkable family using the vast personal collection of correspondence found at the family home at Claydon. As Tinniswood's book on the Verneys explains, "To know the Verneys of Claydon is to know the 17th century. And we know them very well indeed."