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The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century [Paperback]

Ian Mortimer
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (148 customer reviews)
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Book Description

1 Oct 2009

The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there...

Imagine you could travel back to the fourteenth century. What would you see, and hear, and smell? Where would you stay? What are you going to eat? And how are you going to test to see if you are going down with the plague?

In The Time Traveller's Guide... Ian Mortimer's radical new approach turns our entire understanding of history upside down. History is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived, whether that's the life of a peasant or a lord. The result is perhaps the most astonishing history book you are ever likely to read; as revolutionary as it is informative, as entertaining as it is startling.


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The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century + The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England
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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; 18th Impression edition (1 Oct 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1845950992
  • ISBN-13: 978-1845950996
  • Product Dimensions: 13 x 2.5 x 19.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (148 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

"Amazing" (Alison Weir )

"He has a novelist's eye for detail, and his portrait of an England in which sheep are the size of dogs, 30-year-old women are regarded as so much "winter forage", and green vegetables widely held to be poisonous has something of the hallucinatory quality of science-fiction" (Daily Telegraph )

"[Mortimer] sets out to re-enchant the 14th Century, taking us by the hand through a landscape furnished with jousting knights, revolting peasants and beautiful ladies in wimples. It is Monty Python and the Holy Grail with footnotes, and, my goodness it is fun... The result of this careful blend of scholarship and fancy is a jaunty journey through the 14th Century, one that wriggles with the stuff of everyday life" (Guardian )

"This is not only an unusual book, but a thoroughly engaging one" (Literary Review )

"After The Canterbury Tales this has to be the most entertaining book ever written about the middle ages " (Sue Arnold Guardian )

Review

'It is Monty Python and the Holy Grail with footnotes, and, my goodness it is fun'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
371 of 375 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I think that I can safely speak for many of us in the historical community (both writers and readers) when I say that we are - in the nicest way of course - rather nosy. That is, we want to know all about people from different times: what they looked like; what they did; how they did it. For instance, have you ever wondered whether people in the fourteenth century wore nightdresses or what the well off used to wipe their behinds with (I have!)? How about their pastimes, sense of humour or the difficulties of travelling?

Ian Mortimer's latest book: The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England - A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century certainly satisfies that craving for knowledge of the minutiae of daily life in the Middle Ages. The book is lovingly researched and well written with a light sprinkling of humour that makes it very easy to read. The style in itself is very original for a non-fiction historical book, using a `guidebook' approach that is a million miles away from the stuffiness of many `academic' books. Yet, happily, the book does not suffer from a lack of sincerity or historical integrity in any way.

The topics cover a broad range of subjects for the `traveller' from what the landscape will look like to what to wear, where to stay when travelling, and how to address different kinds of people that you will meet along the way. And then, of course, when they invite you to eat with them, you will know what food to expect. And then, of course, there is always the danger of falling ill. The Time Traveller's Guide is once again at hand to tell you not only what may be wrong with you (hopefully not the plague, or leprosy!) and what medicine is available to help cure it.

This book, then, is a wonderful read. To be fair, I could not find fault either with the style or the information it offered (much to my frustration - as I always like to find at least a little criticism to balance things). To anyone who loves this period it will open up new doors to understanding the social history of the time. For writers of Medieval fiction, it is a valuable sourcebook - full of the little details that we need to make our stories come alive.

So yes, I heartily recommend this book as worth every penny
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116 of 118 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Totally engaging 2 Jan 2009
Format:Hardcover
Having read 'The Perfect King' and become interested in the 14th Century (previously my passion was the Tudor Age)I decided to expand my knowledge of the period by picking out this book purely by chance. It is absolutely rivetting and I completed it in just 2 days. There are so many books on the period, most as dry as dust, but the world comes alive through Mortimer's pen. I do not feel it was 'dumbing down' in any way by writing this as a 'guide book' - quite the contrary. The world truly came alive from page one, and my attention was hooked. Mortimer reaches across the centuries into the hearts and minds of people not so very different from ourselves. We learn about their working lives and their leisure. We find out what they eat and what they wear. We can almost feel the horror of parents as they can only stand and watch their whole families being wiped out by plague. The greatest writers of the period are mentioned, not just Chaucer but other authors such as the Gawain poet, writing such poignant verses with emotions that feel just as relevant today. Not only is it a rivetting read, it is truly a handbook to be read in conjuction with other history books of the period. The past is not something long-dead and buried, but has a life all its own and is why we are who we are. A very easy, fascinating read.
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127 of 132 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply superb 2 Nov 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
At school I hated history mainly because it was learning boring dates and events.
This book changes all of that; it tells me what I wanted to know in an easy to read and extremely enjoyable way.

What will I see in a 14th Century street, who will I see, what des it smell like, what will I eat, how do I address people I meet? All of this and more is covered in this excellent book. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of the period such as the city, the town, the village etc. Very clear and very informative; ideal for casual interest, school pupils, university history reading and so on.

I won't go into the details because that would simply spoil things for you so I suggest you get this book and be transported back some 700 years.

It simply brings history to life.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Expertations
I understand this period of history much better.The picture painted of everyday life is great.Its sas if one was there.
Published 7 hours ago by Hans F Hansen
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and informative
The title is a teensy bit misleading because it's specifically about the fourteenth century rather than the whole medieval period. But that doesn't spoil the book in any way. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Martynrb
5.0 out of 5 stars Can't recommend enough
I am pretty hopeless on history, and would not usually read books about history, but this was different. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Ben
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding
A wonderfully well written book about England in the 14th century. Written in the style of a tourists guide book, it explains how the land is and what you will see and experience. Read more
Published 10 days ago by PJF
5.0 out of 5 stars Love the book
Paints a dead good picture of the time. Ooh seriously good reading stuff. The words are very good in the book and I might buy another copy just to help the writer... oooh yeah.
Published 15 days ago by D. thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars A trip back in time.
A wonderful read, told with humour about the lives quite possibly lived by my ancestors in the midlands of England all those years ago.
Published 18 days ago by Red Army Follower
4.0 out of 5 stars Well written and interesting
Enjoyable read and provides comprehensive and realistic detail of life in the Middle Ages. If you love the Middle Ages you will enjoy this book.
Published 22 days ago by Len1949
5.0 out of 5 stars very good
I bought this book to read on holiday, I reaaly enjoyed it .

A good insight into how people lived
Published 28 days ago by wayne lake
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book
I found this book interesting and easy to read, and it was also quite amusing. It is not a heavy going book; very accessible. Read more
Published 1 month ago by SusanS
4.0 out of 5 stars great book
this really does give an interesting view into the 14th century. It'snot boring just informative as though it really is a tour guide. Very interesting.,
Published 1 month ago by mick
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