Status
Available
Series
Publication
Liveright (2017), Edition: 1, 368 pages
Description
Biography & Autobiography. History. Nonfiction. From an historian who advised on the BBC's Wolf Hall, an erudite romp through the intimate details of life in Tudor England.
User reviews
LibraryThing member kaelirenee
This thoroughly engaging book about the day-to-day life of the ordinary people provides an excellent snapshot of Tudor England. From waking in the morning and getting cleaned and dressed, all the way through to going to bed and what is done there, Goodman provides an entertaining and complete view
One of my favorite parts of the book was the personal insights Goodman brought in. She has worked on numerous TV shows and in living museums, living as a Tudor (among other eras), and brought her experience from that into the book. Mundane things like brewing beer or how to keep from getting stinky while wearing the same clothes every day were so much more lively thanks to her insights. Most of the book's information comes from more traditional primary sources: wills, inventories, legal cases. These also help get the feel of the era and bring more authority to her own work.
Anyone interested in Western history, but tired of history as one war after another, would appreciate this book. Even if you don't read it all the way through and skip the sections that seem boring, you'll have a much firmer grasp on the lived experiences of the normal English.
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of what life was like. She considers differences in class, gender, and professions to make this book feel more like living history than textbooks. Admittedly, some sections were drier than others, but that is probably more due to my own interests--I could have read even more of her descriptions of weaving and craft-work, but the sections on dancing bored me to distraction. It was fascinating to learn a) where so many last names come from, b) how old some traditions are (such as the order in which we eat our meals) and c) how new other traditions are (marriage). There are many ideas I'd taken for granted that we absolutely obliterated. For example, I assumed that most boys were apprenticed and learned a trade that they grew into, when in fact, most apprenticeships didn't last the entire contracted time. One of my favorite parts of the book was the personal insights Goodman brought in. She has worked on numerous TV shows and in living museums, living as a Tudor (among other eras), and brought her experience from that into the book. Mundane things like brewing beer or how to keep from getting stinky while wearing the same clothes every day were so much more lively thanks to her insights. Most of the book's information comes from more traditional primary sources: wills, inventories, legal cases. These also help get the feel of the era and bring more authority to her own work.
Anyone interested in Western history, but tired of history as one war after another, would appreciate this book. Even if you don't read it all the way through and skip the sections that seem boring, you'll have a much firmer grasp on the lived experiences of the normal English.
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LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne
I really enjoyed reading about the many facets of Tudor life from someone who has actually lived much of it. This weekend I was able to watch a bread oven being cleared of ashes so that the breads could be put in. So exciting to see what I had just read about! Understanding what was going on made
I think I'd rather not be a Tudor housewife, but it was lovely finding out more of what it would have been like.
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it much more interesting.I think I'd rather not be a Tudor housewife, but it was lovely finding out more of what it would have been like.
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LibraryThing member EowynA
This book was chock full of tidbits about how people lived in Tudor England. It is from a researcher and re-enactor point of view, so the author has actually done many of the activities listed (such as malting barley for brewing her own ale). This lends an authenticity to the account that is hard
This was a great book to read in little snippets at a time. The topics changed rapidly, and one can read, for instance, about Tudor wheat growing while waiting in line, and then pick it up a day or two later while at a bus stop and read about bread making, without feeling like you need to review what you've already read.
I found the book fun, fascinating, and informative. I particularly recommend it to my friends who do Tudor and Elizabethan re-enactment. The author was apparently doing these activities for the purpose of filming. I would be interested in hearing a reaction from those who do long-term costumed interpretation.
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to find elsewhere. The list of sources at the end is extensive and wide-ranging. However, there are no footnotes in the text, which somewhat hampers checking up on her facts.This was a great book to read in little snippets at a time. The topics changed rapidly, and one can read, for instance, about Tudor wheat growing while waiting in line, and then pick it up a day or two later while at a bus stop and read about bread making, without feeling like you need to review what you've already read.
I found the book fun, fascinating, and informative. I particularly recommend it to my friends who do Tudor and Elizabethan re-enactment. The author was apparently doing these activities for the purpose of filming. I would be interested in hearing a reaction from those who do long-term costumed interpretation.
Show Less
LibraryThing member wdwilson3
I found a good deal of this audio book very informative, although some detailed instructions, for example for silk spinning, made me thankful I could skip over them. Well narrated, but suffered from frequent skipping on a seemingly new set of CD's.
LibraryThing member amylee39
Loved it, except I highly recommend daily showers. That's just me.
LibraryThing member Diana_Long_Thomas
I really enjoyed this book. I loved Ruth Goodman on the various TV shows she was on for the BBC. I got hooked when watching Wartime Farm. So when I had heard that she was going to be writing a book I could not wait to read it. Due to college classes, I, unfortunately, had to put it off and wasn't a
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part of the hype behind it. Since I am a history major and this is a part of the history that I focus on there wasn't a lot of new material in the book for me. The new information on this era was wonderful and really kept me interested. As well as some of the things I already knew about were expanded upon and there were a few nuggets of new information in those chapters. Especially the parts when she explained how she actually experienced what she was talking about while working on "Tudor Monastery Farm" and "Tales from the Green Valley". So she could say yes this worked well, or how in the world did they deal with this issue. I really liked how she designed the book and how each chapter was a different part of the day. The book goes from when a Tudor woke up to when they went to bed. I really hope she writes more books like this I definitely can't wait to read more from her. Show Less
LibraryThing member japaul22
This was a fun look at the day of a person living in the Tudor England. As someone who reads a lot of both nonfiction and historical fiction set in the Tudor period, I enjoyed this. Goodman goes through the day chronologically. Some parts were more interesting to me than others - I particularly
Recommended if you're interested in the time period or like hearing about the lives of normal people in other eras.
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liked the food discussions. Goodman is obviously knowledgeable and has lived in the manner of Tudors herself at different points in her life. Recommended if you're interested in the time period or like hearing about the lives of normal people in other eras.
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LibraryThing member thornton37814
Author Ruth Goodman perused court records, wills, estate inventories, diaries, and other resources to examine life for common people in Tudor England. Her readable guide explores facets of daily life--household furnishings, cleanliness and hygiene, clothing, food, education, work, recreation, and
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sex. She treats subjects such as religion as part of the discussion for other topics. The resulting book contains social history that genealogists can utilize in constructing fuller narratives of ancestors and relatives living during this period. While several of Shakespeare's plays are mentioned throughout the book and theatre is treated in the section on recreation, the lack of mentioning Shakespeare and the Globe in that section seems a serious omission since his influence began in Elizabeth I's days and extended into the Stuart reign of James I. I found it interesting the author tried many Tudor ways of doing things prior to writing about them. Show Less
LibraryThing member JessicaReadsThings
Always love Ruth Goodman's books! Very detailed and informative look at the every day realities of Tudor life.
LibraryThing member jennybeast
I liked this book even better than How to be a Victorian -- mostly because I like the time period more, but also just for the sheer distance into history that Goodman is writing about. As usual, a delight to read, with really engaging first person stories about reenacting and how things were done.
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The kinds of experiences that Goodman brings to the book are so incredibly useful for understanding the time period! Finally, someone explains floor rushes in a way that I can visual and understand. Marvelous, funny, and great, great history. Show Less
Awards
NPR: Books We Love (2016)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2015
Physical description
368 p.; 5.5 inches
ISBN
1631492535 / 9781631492532
Local notes
history