- Hardcover: 528 pages
- Publisher: Bodley Head (4 Jun 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0224077678
- ISBN-13: 978-0224077675
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 5.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
41,265 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Black Death
- #34 in Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > History of Medicine
- #50 in Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Norman and Medieval 1001-1500
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Product Description
Review
'Benedict Gummer's highly impressive book charts the subsequent spread of the disease in meticulous and terrible detail' --The Sunday Telegraph
'Not only is Gummer's book a treasure chest of detail...it is also full of shrewd observations. The Scourging Angel is an elegant and self-assured debut.' --Telegraph
'An engaging if somewhat eccentric book... rarely fails to hold the reader's attention' --Literary Review
'This remarkable, ambitious book by a new, young historian is positive about the new society that survived disaster. Read on and learn a very great deal about life in Britain and more widely throughout Europe in the mid-14th century' --The Times
'[A] glorious picture of 14th-century England ... a work of self-evident scholarship ... this truly impressive work of narrative and interpretative history. In Mr Gummer's elegant prose, with its ultra-precise vocabulary, Britain in the mid 14th century comes alive: you see it, hear it, smell it'
--Country Life
`Benedict Gummer's study...establishes the facts more thoroughly than any of his predecessors, and uses a wider range of sources' --Times Literary Supplement
`There is a wealth of detail, which is impeccably researched' --Historical Novels Review
'gripping and illuminating' --Seven Magazine in Sunday Telegraph
'Not only is Gummer's book a treasure chest of detail...it is also full of shrewd observations. The Scourging Angel is an elegant and self-assured debut.' --Telegraph
'An engaging if somewhat eccentric book... rarely fails to hold the reader's attention' --Literary Review
'This remarkable, ambitious book by a new, young historian is positive about the new society that survived disaster. Read on and learn a very great deal about life in Britain and more widely throughout Europe in the mid-14th century' --The Times
'[A] glorious picture of 14th-century England ... a work of self-evident scholarship ... this truly impressive work of narrative and interpretative history. In Mr Gummer's elegant prose, with its ultra-precise vocabulary, Britain in the mid 14th century comes alive: you see it, hear it, smell it'
--Country Life
`Benedict Gummer's study...establishes the facts more thoroughly than any of his predecessors, and uses a wider range of sources' --Times Literary Supplement
`There is a wealth of detail, which is impeccably researched' --Historical Novels Review
'gripping and illuminating' --Seven Magazine in Sunday Telegraph
Review
‘The enormous value of Gummer’s book, for all its apparent narrowness of focus, is that it concentrates attention on the plague as an episode in the Hundred Years War and the new mercantilism that was opening up northern seas and nations to world trade – (a) fine book’ - The Herald, Brian Morton
‘there are constant delights in this truly impressive work of narrative and interpretive history…the author ventures intelligently and convincingly. The Scourging Angel is full of hope, as well as of superior scholarship’ - Country Life, Allan Mallinson
‘there are constant delights in this truly impressive work of narrative and interpretive history…the author ventures intelligently and convincingly. The Scourging Angel is full of hope, as well as of superior scholarship’ - Country Life, Allan Mallinson
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The detail really is incredible. Given the circumstances of the period it is amazing that some many facts have survived from the period and the author has diligently collated and presented them in a very readable format. In addition to being so factual, you also get a real sense of the horror that the survivors must have experienced.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Nothing like a good epidemic to get the juices of the popular imagination running. SARS, avian flu and sine flu all spring to mind, but all have been rather over-egged, natural caution by the medical authorities has been whipped up by the media more intent on selling themselves rather than informing us. Don't believe me? How many died from all of the above? Don't know? Neither do I. However, look around you and imagine for every ten people you know between five and seven of them die. That was the Black Death.
Its shadowy origins and precise nature are still being argued over, but it's impact isn't. It could take several weeks to manifest itself, so in an almost Bram Stoker-like setting, ships crewed by corpses could glide into ports to wreak devastation, travellers could find abandoned settlements in the woods.
Arriving in South-West England in 1348, it cut a long swathe through a country with rudimentary health care. The economic life of the country is well drawn here so you have a good feel of 14th century life. The regions especially are very well detailed by Gummer (courtesy of the indispensable chroniclers of medieval life, the monks). He makes the convincing argument that the Black Death accentuated rather than caused the later social upheavals like the Peasant's Revolt as economic development, the withering away of villeinage was already well under way.
A very good narrative that outlines what was viewed by many as an apocalyptic event with a very well developed description of time and place
Its shadowy origins and precise nature are still being argued over, but it's impact isn't. It could take several weeks to manifest itself, so in an almost Bram Stoker-like setting, ships crewed by corpses could glide into ports to wreak devastation, travellers could find abandoned settlements in the woods.
Arriving in South-West England in 1348, it cut a long swathe through a country with rudimentary health care. The economic life of the country is well drawn here so you have a good feel of 14th century life. The regions especially are very well detailed by Gummer (courtesy of the indispensable chroniclers of medieval life, the monks). He makes the convincing argument that the Black Death accentuated rather than caused the later social upheavals like the Peasant's Revolt as economic development, the withering away of villeinage was already well under way.
A very good narrative that outlines what was viewed by many as an apocalyptic event with a very well developed description of time and place
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
OK, so it is a great story - but it requires great skill in the telling, and Gummer does it more than justice. I picked it up, not quite sure whether I could face the Black Death as my leisure time reading for a week or so, and was hooked by the end of the first paragraph.
And it is not an easy job he has undertaken, either. There has been a lot of scholarship out there in the last few years, effectively comprehensively debunking what we all learned in school, and to get that across at all requires great ability to manage sources. To get it across simply, compellingly and interestingly requires yet more, and Gummer manages it. The historical background, the science, the economics and the eyewitness materials are woven together with great skill, and with a truly excellent narrative drive. Read it, you won't regret it!
And it is not an easy job he has undertaken, either. There has been a lot of scholarship out there in the last few years, effectively comprehensively debunking what we all learned in school, and to get that across at all requires great ability to manage sources. To get it across simply, compellingly and interestingly requires yet more, and Gummer manages it. The historical background, the science, the economics and the eyewitness materials are woven together with great skill, and with a truly excellent narrative drive. Read it, you won't regret it!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Medieval Britain survives the pestilence
This book is essentially a political and socio-ecomonic history of the British Isles during the second half of the fourteenth century, using the "Great Death" - Gummer's preferred... Read more
Published 16 months ago by G. Gilpin
the Black Death
I bought this as apresent for my son but skimmed through it and found it fascinating and very detailed. The book was in top condition and well packaged.
Published 21 months ago by exlibrarian
Disappointment
I was really looking forward to reading this book after reading the review in the Telegraph. As a previous reviewer stated it is way too long and goes into too much detail about... Read more
Published 22 months ago by S. Shenow
Detailed, engrossing and thought-provoking...
This isn't an entirely comprehensive overview of the plague in Britain - it doesn't cover the later epidemic of the 17th century, for example - preferring to concentrate on the... Read more
Published 22 months ago by C. Ball
review
There were sections of this book that were a joy to read where the content and the style almost sang. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2010 by Nrhlangman
Outstanding and innovative work of historical scholarship with a...
I took this excellent book on my Christmas holiday fully expecting not to get through it completely. How wrong I was. Read more
Published on 11 Jan 2010 by Paul Taylor
Fascinating study
I have to disagree with K Hollywood's comments regarding Gummer's meticulously researched study of the Black Death. Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2009 by Cicely Michael
In the dark
Contemporary research often tends to overthrow conventional or previous beliefs about an historical event or theme and this book is no different to others that write on the... Read more
Published on 7 Aug 2009 by K. Hollywood
The scourging angel
An easy to read book that charts the progress of the Black Death and brings it into focus with the political and social background of the time. Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2009 by Rj Lane
The Scourging Angel: The Black Death in the British Isles - Benedict...
A fascinating study of the spread of plague and its socio economic effects - made all the more relevant by the spread of swine flu at the moment. Read more
Published on 31 July 2009 by E. Murphy
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