Every family has a history and delving into the history of one ordinary French family over three centuries provides a remarkable picture of deep social and economic changes. Accounts of the lives of the rich and powerful families of history are commonplace. We have all read about the Kennedy's, the Windsors or the Habsburgs but what about an ordinary family? Dan is joined by Emma Rothschild, Professor of History at Harvard University and herself a scion of the Rothschild family, who has set out to prove that any family, however ordinary can be just as fascinating. She chose at random Marie Aymard, an illiterate widow, who lived in the provincial town of Angoulême in southwestern France in 1764 and traced her family's history down five generations and it's quite a ride! This episode charts the history of the family, why Emma chose this subject matter and acts as a reminder that families are intriguing and complicated with an infinite number of different outcomes.