ABSTRACT
Primary sources are those produced during the period being studied – in this case, the Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian eras. They have been described as the raw material from which history is made and they play a vital role in interpretations to be found in secondary sources. Interest in primary sources was initiated by the nineteenth-century German historical school but, during the second half of the twentieth, has been given a new focus within the British educational system. The scope of primary sources has also been greatly expanded and now goes far beyond the original concentration on diplomatic and official documents. Every student of history is now familiar with the shades and variety of primary sources, and also with the questions which need to be asked of them. Are they reliable and are they useful?
