Hi, I'm not entirely sure if this is what you're looking for, but it seems to me that you could benefit more from getting solid research-based history books about any period than a selection by a specific time. When the work behind a book is well done, a student can always find exciting streams of thought, and learn from its methodology.

As not to leave you with no suggestions at all, perhaps try Thompson's The making of the English working class, and Hobsbawn's Age of Revolutions.