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" ... this popular history explores daily life in Queen Elizabeth's England, taking us inside the homes and minds of ordinary citizens as well as luminaries of the period, including Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Sir Francis Drake. Organized as a travel guide for the time-hopping tourist, Mortimer relates in delightful (and occasionally disturbing) detail everything from the sounds and smells of sixteenth-century England to the complex and contradictory Elizabethan attitudes toward violence, class, sex, and religion. Original enough to interest those with previous knowledge of Elizabethan England and accessible enough to entertain those without, The Time Traveler's Guide is a book for Elizabethan enthusiasts and history buffs alike."--… (more)
User reviews
I found the first chapter of The Time Traveler’s Guide a little hard to get through. The description of the landscape made me hold details about what was in all directions in my head at once and it made it hard to see the big picture. If you experience the same thing, don’t let that deter you! The rest of the book flew by. Topics described were easier to picture and I found the glimpse I got of every day life in Elizabethan England fascinating. I particularly liked that the author would say things like “if you went up and spoke to one of those peasants…” or “as you’re walking down the street, you’ll most likely see…”. It made me picture being there very vividly.
Another really nice touch was the inclusion of specific information known about real people. The statement “farmers kept most of their money invested in live stock” is far less interesting than hearing that “John Smith kept cows, sheep, and pigs that were worth most of his monetary value”. These examples made the information feel much more real, personal, and immediate. The direct quotes provided the finishing touch on the immersive experience this book provides. Some quotes were explained so well that humor transcended time, an impressive feat given how hard it is to translate humor across cultures. Overall, the many details, the quotes, the inclusion of the reader in the scenes described, and the personal touches made this the perfect book for getting a feel for the Elizabethan Era.
This review first published on Doing Dewey.
But the chapters and sections dedicated to every day life were a
The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is the lack of images to help the reader picture what is being described. I struggled in the geography sections: having no sense of direction at all and not knowing London except trough reading, I was quite lost at what the city looked like.
This book has masses of detail, much of it trivial, and with all its factoids would be a good resource for
Despite all the obvious differences, what came across to me, is our immense debt we owe to these Elizabethans, the hardships they had to endure so that we could benefit. And how we share so many parallel social concerns thanks to their pioneering efforts. Well done them. No wish to live their life but so glad to have had this wonderful refreshing opportunity to dip my toe and and get a well-rounded feel for how they lived.
But I digress. This book attempts to provide the reader with a feeling of what it might be like to visit Elizabethan England, and to the extent possible, I think it largely succeeds. Unlike the previous book, this one has no color plates or pictures or any kind. These would have been helpful, especially to illustrate the clothing of the well off, which sounds incredibly impractical, uncomfortable, and outrageously expensive. The primary function seems to be as displays of social status, but I suppose people still do that in our time with designer handbags and whatnot.
I’m tempted to go on about how histories like this demonstrate the foibles our species, and that we and our ancestors are much the same, subject to the same types of irrational beliefs and behaviors. But I won’t. I’m only writing a short book review, after all, and I have other things to do today. Still, I can recommend this book, not just for the history it provides about a specific time and place but also as a means for encouraging a higher perspective about the human species and its cultural evolution.
This results, though, in altogether far too many lists. Tell me the value of property left by the average middle class farmer on their death, by all means: I don't however, need a detailed list of what farmer A left, what farmer B left, what farmer C left, and so on.
I was also disappointed that the book seemed to focus on the wealthier end of society, talking of the poorer element only in terms of their most likely being vagabonds etc. having finished the book, I know what a courtier would eat, drink and wear, but know much less about what day to day life was like in the over-crowded parts of town.
Had I not been reading this for a book club, I suspect I would have taking a break from reading it, as I did reach a point where I was reading because I felt I had to, not because I wanted to.
But then I got to the last section, about the theatre. It may be that I found this section interesting because I have a latent interest in theatre, but I found this section of the book by far the most engaging. The description of the theatre, the playwrights, and in particular of Shakespeare, strikes me as being written by someone with a huge interest themselves on the theatre. The last 20 pages of the book are by far the most captivating.
In a nutshell: Author Ian Mortimer has researched source documents, including personal journals and diaries, as well as other sources to provide details about what
Worth quoting:
“A woman may travel, pray, write, and generally go about her affairs just as freely as a man — as long as she is not married.”
“But it is the mass production of books in English that prompts the shift to a more literary culture, not printing itself.”
“At Christmas the wealthy are expected to entertain the less fortunate members of society.”
Why I chose it: It seems my books choices this year are: I live in England now and want to learn; I don’t have a job and need to figure out what I’m doing with my life; and Other. This is the first one.
Review:
This book took me FOREVER to read, but that’s because the information is so interesting and densely packed. I only found myself skimming a few parts; the rest was just fascinating. I’ve always wondered about the daily life in past time periods; most of what I know comes from either a short bit in a world history text book, or from movies. This book was just what I wanted.
Mr. Mortimer covers pretty much everything I’d wanted to learn about - he talks about the people, the role religion plays, the ethics and morals of the people, essentials (including money, which I still don’t really get), clothing, traveling, housing, food, illness, crime, and entertainment. Wherever possible, he includes details from diaries or letters written by someone who lived during this time.
I found the food, illness, and clothing sections the most interesting, but generally skimmed the entertainment section mostly because I was getting anxious and just wanted to finish the book (I might go back and read it again later). If you’re into history, I think you’ll probably enjoy this one.
He starts with the
Now equipped with the fundamentals he takes you thought the basic elements that you need to survive in that society, from writing to the language, shopping to measurements, the travel arrangements that you need to make and the clothes that you need to be seen wearing. When travelling you are advised how to avoid criminals and highwaymen, and details on the diseases of the time. Having reached your destination , then some entertainment will be on the cards, before knowing where to stay. You need to keep your wits about you, life is harsh for anyone in the age. Sealing anything with a value greater than 12d means that you could endue being hung!
Most of the time it is written as if you are accompanying the guide, but occasionally he takes a wider view. There is a wealth of information in this book. Almost too much to take in in one go. It is a book to be dipped into and savoured because every time you go back to it you will find something new.
Not to say
This book could have been something... much more intriguing than what it was. Despite its chapters and chapters on English Renaissance mores and social history that I invariably flock to, Mortimer's book feels simply dry more often than not. It felt as if much of the book diverted into rote
One aspect I found early in the book was Mortimer's obvious distaste of religiosity. It struck me as terribly disingenuous for an author on a time period ruled by religion to dismiss it so obviously—there's very little nuance in this book that supposedly wishes to get into the mind of Elizabethan's so as to inform us on our "trip". I think this quote summarizes the author's thesis fairly cleary (and something I won't spend my time on as to why I found it so wrong):
"Today we commonly take for granted that there is a fundamental conflict between scientific knowledge and religious beliefs" (102)
I didn't hate all of it though, in fact, I loved the chapters the people, basic essentials, what to wear, what to eat and drink, and especially on hygiene, illness, and medicine. Those were page-turners, especially in the depiction of a plague-ridden man digging his own grave and forcing his nephew to watch as he lay down and died in it, oh man. The chapters on the landscape and on where to stay though were quite the opposite, and almost made me give up a few times.
Maybe I just don't like 16th-century English history though, and it's all on me. It's a decent book, but I just know I won't be reading this again nor necessarily recommending it (and maybe staying away from this time period for a bit).
This book takes the reader back in time to Elizabethan England, the time during which Elizabeth I reigned, from 1558 to 1603. The author describes society in general so the reader/time traveller knows what to expect/how to behave.
These are interesting, but this one didn’t have the same
p.215 Barbarian actually comes from Greek barbaros, latin barbarus. What the ancient Greeks called anyone who couldn't speak Greek, but just said 'bar bar bar.' The Barbary pirates are from the Barbar or Berber coast from an Arabic word that may also come from the Greek. The Barbar pirates may have influenced the usage in Elizabethan English, but they are hardly the 'original barbarians'.