Few books have captured the atmosphere of daily medieval life as well or as movingly as "A Fool and his Money". Rodez, in southern France, was divided for centuries by a fued between two masters. This partitioned town thus acquired two distinct cultures. The story focuses on the strange case of Peyre Marques, a merchant who forgets where he has buried his gold. To read "A Fool and his Money" is like opening a shutter on to a sunlit medieval street teeming with characters, talk and noise all coloured with the vibrancy of truth.
A Fool And His Money: Life in a Partitioned Medieval Town
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
Popular history at the highest level -- Independent
About the Author
Ann Wroe is the American editor of The Economist, and was formerly its literary editor. Her last book, A Fool and His Money was highly praised by the critics.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
`The town was Rodez; the river was the Aveyron. The year was 1369 or 1370, though nobody can say for sure.'
15 Dec 2010
By J. Cameron-Smith
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Who owned the pot of gold found in a drain in Rodez, France, in either 1369 or 1370? Was it the man who claimed it, or was it his father-in-law?
`The story was already set, had become news.'
Ann Wroe unearthed a court case related to this gold and while the outcome of the court case is not known, Ms Wroe's research has provided a wealth of information about life in Rodez. Consider: a fortified city internally partitioned into two communities: the more elegant and ecclesiastical City - subject to the English, and the commercial Bourg - subject to the French. At this time, during the Hundred Years War, bandits roamed the countryside, as did French and English troops and mercenaries.
And what was life like for people in this fourteenth century community? The City paid taxes to the Black Prince and the Bourg paid tax (when it couldn't be helped) to the Count of Armagnac. Some individuals managed to avoid tax completely by being unfindable in either place. With separate municipal governments, and considerable rivalry between the two it is easy to see how the ownership of the gold could be disputed and how, unfortunately, the outcome of the court case is unknown.
Ms Wroe's research has resulted in an interesting and readable account of everyday life in a city divided by more than a wall. Somehow, by the end of the book, knowing who owned the gold was less important than appreciating the everyday lives of those in the city where it was found. In dissecting this complicated case, Ms Wroe has put context around the lives and actions of those involved brought the town of Rodez to life.
Who needs fiction when fact is so interesting?
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
`The story was already set, had become news.'
Ann Wroe unearthed a court case related to this gold and while the outcome of the court case is not known, Ms Wroe's research has provided a wealth of information about life in Rodez. Consider: a fortified city internally partitioned into two communities: the more elegant and ecclesiastical City - subject to the English, and the commercial Bourg - subject to the French. At this time, during the Hundred Years War, bandits roamed the countryside, as did French and English troops and mercenaries.
And what was life like for people in this fourteenth century community? The City paid taxes to the Black Prince and the Bourg paid tax (when it couldn't be helped) to the Count of Armagnac. Some individuals managed to avoid tax completely by being unfindable in either place. With separate municipal governments, and considerable rivalry between the two it is easy to see how the ownership of the gold could be disputed and how, unfortunately, the outcome of the court case is unknown.
Ms Wroe's research has resulted in an interesting and readable account of everyday life in a city divided by more than a wall. Somehow, by the end of the book, knowing who owned the gold was less important than appreciating the everyday lives of those in the city where it was found. In dissecting this complicated case, Ms Wroe has put context around the lives and actions of those involved brought the town of Rodez to life.
Who needs fiction when fact is so interesting?
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Boyd Hone
Format:Hardcover
Wroe is a genius and mustn't be judged by this very thin volume, nice sans plus. If I were Wroe I would withdraw it as it might dissuade readers from discovering her other wonderful works. I've read some fabulous books over the past few months, several of which have kept me glued to my seat: Nigel Randell's THE WHITE HEADHUNTER, the story of a 19-year-old who was captured by cannibals before becoming one himself; Simon Baatz's FOR THE THRILL OF IT, two boy assassins of around 15 who spoke a dozen languages between them (one of which was Sanskrit!), the absolutely hilarious DREYFUS AFFAIR by Peter Lefcourt and Wroe's totally remarkable PERKIN, another incredible story about the lad who pretended to be one of the sons of Edward IV, supposedly murdered in the Tower by Richard III. The king at the time, Henry VII, spent thousands of pounds--millions in today's money--trying to locate him. There had been some great Henrys in English history, the amazing Henry II (my all-time favorite), father of the no less amazing Richard Coeur de Lion and husband to the equally amazing Eleanor d'Aquitaine, and Henry V of Agincourt fame. This Henry, the VII, far less amazing, had spent, as I said, a fortune hunting down the impostor, Perkin, but like l'Avare he stashed away the rest of his loot until the country's coffers were literally overflowing with gold. It took Henry VIII little time to dilapidate it all before finding other resources (to keep his libido red hot) like robbing monasteries, even if it meant founding of church of his own. The king's sheep followed him then as they do their betters today (Vegas, any one?)--strange for a Democracy, but of lesser interest than a boy cannibal, boy assassins, a gay baseball player and a boy impostor. My own books can be found on Amazon under Michael Hone.
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
An unusual book - I was expecting a story based around the discovery of a pot of gold,
but what we get is a series of digressions which serve to illuminate the world of Rodez in the
14th Century. I found this format quite unexpected and hard to accustom myself to at first, but
I soon discarded my preconceptions and found the material very interesting. This is first and foremost
a study of medieval life in a provincial French town. The story of the gold found in a pot in a cellar
re-emerges from time to time, but becomes unimportant in my opinion. I enjoyed the style and the way in
which the author opens a doorway into the past by at first retelling her own story of how she arrived in
Rodez to do research and the people she encountered there, before diving into the history of the place.
The book closes with the author leaving on a train, looking back on the town with a lump in her throat I
imagine! I am now going to read her `Perkin`- looking forward to it.
but what we get is a series of digressions which serve to illuminate the world of Rodez in the
14th Century. I found this format quite unexpected and hard to accustom myself to at first, but
I soon discarded my preconceptions and found the material very interesting. This is first and foremost
a study of medieval life in a provincial French town. The story of the gold found in a pot in a cellar
re-emerges from time to time, but becomes unimportant in my opinion. I enjoyed the style and the way in
which the author opens a doorway into the past by at first retelling her own story of how she arrived in
Rodez to do research and the people she encountered there, before diving into the history of the place.
The book closes with the author leaving on a train, looking back on the town with a lump in her throat I
imagine! I am now going to read her `Perkin`- looking forward to it.
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction
- Books > History > Cultural History
- Books > History > Europe > France
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
