Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Utterly fascinating!, 2 Feb 2002
Lisa Picard has surveyed the ten years between 1660-1670, when Pepys was writing his diary, and presented her findings in fascinating detail. Everything you wanted to know but was afraid to ask is here: sex, food, shopping, lavatories - the whole scene. I am writing a teenage fiction book set in Plague times and she has done most of my research for me! She writes succinctly, with wit and humour, and whilst reading the book I found myself giggling at her prose far more than at so-called funny books. This is a book you can dip into time and time again and always come up with a plum. It's one of my absolutely favourite books and I've recommended it to both lay readers and history buffs. I'd like to thank Lisa for such a brilliant read.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Everything you wanted to know, and then some, 8 Dec 2002
RESTORATION LONDON is a cross-sectional portrait of the city in the years 1660-1670. Extensively researched, it answers any questions you may have had about London during that period, and many more you wouldn't have thought to ask. The author, lawyer Liza Picard, leaves no stone unturned to describe the condition and characteristics of the streets, water supply, pollution, waste disposal, the great fire of 1666, houses, interior decorating, heating, lighting, furniture, gardens, parks, postal service, medicine, dentistry, clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, hairdressing, housework, shopping, markets, payment, prices, cooking, recipes, drink, the household master and mistress, children, apprentices, servants, slaves, pets, education, etiquette, the arts, music, dancing, excursions, the law, marriage, divorce, crime, taxes, contracts, wills, the rich, the poor, the "middling sort", the Church of England, the Church of Rome, the Jews, astrology, superstitions, witchcraft, and everybody's favorite - sex. Unless, like I do, you think London the greatest city on earth, or are just interested in urban life in past times, you may find this book a bit over the top. However, Picard entertains, and informs, with a dry wit that is perhaps too infrequently demonstrated...
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Much more than just dates and facts - very well written, 3 Mar 1999
By A Customer
Let's be honest. Who cares that the Spanish suffered a naval defeat off Enkhuizen in October 1573? Who really gives a damn that Ferdinand of Spain remarried to Germaine de Foix in 1505? Anyone here bothered that Cranmer's Litany was produced on Henry VIII's command? I will wager that unless you are a historian, you will label these stuffy historical facts, and turn back to your Danielle Steel or John Grisham. History, we might as well be honest, is dreary and dull. Except... for in the hands of Liza Picard, when it becomes a compendium of facts that are actually fascinating. For these are not dates of battles and acts, they are not records of long speeches by long dead figures. No, this book takes one of the greatest cities in the world, races back in time to the most colourful and exciting time of change, growth and real life in its history, and tells us how the people lived on the dark, tiny streets of London during the Restoration. The day to day facts, the actual way these people lived, things that we can compare to our own lives, relate to, and gasp, ponder and sometimes downright laugh at. What make up did they put on their faces, how did they view sex, what words did they use, what did they eat, what did they wear, which creatures did they keep as pets, what pornography did they like to look at, how did they dance, what medical procedures did they face...? The facts are fast and fascinating, the words are like magic, dancing lightly on the page. Here the facts are put straight to you. The book is fun, absorbing, packed with information, and a good read whether you are stuffy historian, bored homekeeper, modern, happening teenager (like me), teacher, librarian, trashy novelist, time traveller... What ever your tastes, I guarantee this book will prove useful and interesting.
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