This article is based on Ruth Tudor’s book. The book is the collaborative result of a series of seminars and discussions which involved educators throughout Europe. Written with 14-19 year olds in mind, the approach explores how it is possible to investigate, to exploit to provide new insights and to teach effectively, a topic that is often overlooked or under-played in the grand sweeps of European history that roll over the lives of ordinary people. Intimate and complex, the approach encourages teachers to use a range of sources and methods such as oral history, to reveal connections between work, family, culture, war and politics that illuminate issues far wider than ‘how women were treated’. By examining a topic that is sometimes dismissed as narrow, sectional or even boring, in a particular way - viewing history from the perspective of ‘real’ women - Ruth’s booklet demonstrates how it is possible to link the local, immediate and seemingly ordinary to shed light on the ‘big issues’ at the heart of society and government. (For details of how to find out about this and the other Council of Europe publications please see the end of Mark McLaughlin’s article on page 28 of this edition.)