The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England - Ian Mortimer

‘The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.’ After studying history at university I was all too familiar with L.P Hartley’s over-used and exhausted citation. And what a shame it is that there are no Easyjet flights to the Summer of Love of ’69, no package holidays to Victorian London and no long-haul expeditions to Ancient Egypt. Nevertheless, Ian Mortimer does the best he can do in the absence of a Time Lord travel agency as he endeavours to take his readers on a journey back to a time long gone. And you won’t need your sunglasses, flip-flops and itsy-bitsy bikinis for ... more

I really enjoy history and particularly love reading about medieval, Tudor and Elizabethan history. Browsing my local library recently I came across a book by Ian Mortimer that really appealed to me. The book, entitled the time travellers guide to medieval England really ,is very different to any history book I have ever read and one I can highly recommend. Imagine you could travel back in time to medieval England. What would you see and hear and smell? This really sums up what the book is about and how it is written. The introduction starts by asking the reading what the term *medieval* ... more

A very interesting idea and a very interesting book. The premis of the book is that you are a time-traveller and this is your guide to medieval England. The introduction of the book sets the scene about exactly what is "medieval England" and talks about some of the sources that have been used to write the book. Once into the main body of the book the chapters are on the following subjects:The LandscapeThe PeopleThe Medieval CharacterBasic EssentialsWhat to WearTravellingWhere to StayWhat to Eat and DrinkHealth and HygieneThe LawWhat to DoAll of the chapters are really well researched and ... more