Scan barcode
hurlyburlywitch's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
4.25
Well-paced, highly informative, and using its sources like fond characters we can refer back to, this installment of the Time Travellers Guide gave me several fun facts to share, and escorted me joyfully through reformation Britain, giving me a more profound understanding of life in the period.
sashas_books's review against another edition
emotional
informative
slow-paced
5.0
Ian Mortimer has taken me on yet another journey, and what a journey it was. The non-fiction books of this series feel like an adventure – of course they do, because I am traveling back in time!
“the past is best viewed close up and personally - in contrast to traditional history, which emphasises the value of objectivity and distance.”
The setup is familiar from the earlier books: descriptions of cities, people, their way of life, what to wear, what to eat and drink, how to travel, where to stay, what laws to obey, how much to pay for things.
This is more than a guidebook, of course. Ian Mortimer’s writing is intimate, humane, at times sarcastic; there is always sympathy for our ancestors, they are neither weird nor ignorant, they just are.
Second half of the 17th century in Britain is a time of great change: the beginnings of rationalism and science as we know it, there is a sense of wonder and discovery; the end of an absolute monarchy and the first imaginings of the social contract. With the restoration of monarchy and the fall of the Puritanical Commonwealth, people can go to the theatre again, listen to music more freely… and not get executed for adultery. (Hmmm… why does this sound familiar to me, a traveler from the 21st century?)
But women still get burned alive for killing their husbands – because it’s treason, even if he is an abuser and it was self-defence. And they hang students that ridicule religion after too many drinks.
This book is full of details, details, details. I think every reader will find things to love and be especially interested in, especially moved by. These are mine, in no particular order:
📖 The descriptions of London are lovely. The rebuilding after the Great Fire of London in 1666 was impressively fast. Also, this was then people in Britain started getting fire insurance. (Sensible.)
Here is some advice on how to preserve your inn while the rest of the town is on fire:
“He told me, by the help of some friends hoisting some hogsheads of beer out of the cellar and, being very diligent to cool those parts of the house that were very hot, they did preserve it.”
“Surely this is one of the greatest events in the annals of British fire-fighting,” comments the author.
📖 The child mortality rates are simply staggering. “37 per cent of all the children born in England do not make it to the age of fifteen.”
📖 The inequality between the sexes “amounts to sexism on a scale that you will barely be able to countenance.”
And legally, as a woman you can’t do anything at all unless your husband/father/some other dude with power over you says yes.
“What matters is that the law justifies the husband’s actions against his wife so completely that it makes him arrogant and uncompromising.”
Still, contemporary travelers note that women in Britain have more liberty than in other countries - they go places! by themselves! Amazing, right? And women begin to act on stage; to earn money as professional painters; to publish more books and plays.
📖 Servants:
“If you want to know what life in service is like for many women, think in terms of Cinderella’s daily grind of scouring, scrubbing, washing and polishing from before dawn to late at night - and having to comb the lice out of the hair of a man who beats you and forces you to have sex with him.”
📖 POC:
The concept of racism as we understand it does not exist yet. There are preconceptions about POC that are “deeply unpleasant”. I’m guessing that people are aware that there is slavery overseas that is financing their fine lifestyle, but they’d rather not think about it – and besides, they are not “like us.” There is debate on whether slaves should be considered free once they come to England (since there is no slavery there officially). What about those POC that have been baptised? Surely it’s wrong if a Christian enslaves another Christian. Interestingly enough, there are recorded legal cases with judges thinking like that, so that slaves are freed. Yes, sometimes there is hope for humanity...
📖 Don’t get me started on duels! It’s a miracle there were any earls and dukes left alive in Britain.
📖 Law and justice:
“If it is fairness you want from your legal system, I suggest you visit a period of history that prioritises the person over property, reality over religion, science over superstition, equity over influence and fairness over the process of law. In finding such a time, I wish you luck.”
📖 Beauty products:
“Puppy-oil” is distilled dog. No, I am not kidding. Girls, you are supposed to put that on your face and you’ll be beautiful. No comments.
📖 Cool new stuff:
Champagne! Fountain pens! Public transport! Coffee houses! Tea! First museums! (The museum geek says: this section should have been longer.) First public concerts!
This review is getting way too long, time to wrap up… I am kind of sad that I only have one book left in this series.
I love the closing lines of the last chapter, as the time traveler prepares to go to bed: “But therin lies a question: what does the day ahead hold? So many things, so many.”
And this last from the author:
“If you listen carefully at the door to the past, what you hear most - above all the distant sounds of daily life and death - is the beating of the most unstoppable heart.”
“the past is best viewed close up and personally - in contrast to traditional history, which emphasises the value of objectivity and distance.”
The setup is familiar from the earlier books: descriptions of cities, people, their way of life, what to wear, what to eat and drink, how to travel, where to stay, what laws to obey, how much to pay for things.
This is more than a guidebook, of course. Ian Mortimer’s writing is intimate, humane, at times sarcastic; there is always sympathy for our ancestors, they are neither weird nor ignorant, they just are.
Second half of the 17th century in Britain is a time of great change: the beginnings of rationalism and science as we know it, there is a sense of wonder and discovery; the end of an absolute monarchy and the first imaginings of the social contract. With the restoration of monarchy and the fall of the Puritanical Commonwealth, people can go to the theatre again, listen to music more freely… and not get executed for adultery. (Hmmm… why does this sound familiar to me, a traveler from the 21st century?)
But women still get burned alive for killing their husbands – because it’s treason, even if he is an abuser and it was self-defence. And they hang students that ridicule religion after too many drinks.
This book is full of details, details, details. I think every reader will find things to love and be especially interested in, especially moved by. These are mine, in no particular order:
📖 The descriptions of London are lovely. The rebuilding after the Great Fire of London in 1666 was impressively fast. Also, this was then people in Britain started getting fire insurance. (Sensible.)
Here is some advice on how to preserve your inn while the rest of the town is on fire:
“He told me, by the help of some friends hoisting some hogsheads of beer out of the cellar and, being very diligent to cool those parts of the house that were very hot, they did preserve it.”
“Surely this is one of the greatest events in the annals of British fire-fighting,” comments the author.
📖 The child mortality rates are simply staggering. “37 per cent of all the children born in England do not make it to the age of fifteen.”
📖 The inequality between the sexes “amounts to sexism on a scale that you will barely be able to countenance.”
And legally, as a woman you can’t do anything at all unless your husband/father/some other dude with power over you says yes.
“What matters is that the law justifies the husband’s actions against his wife so completely that it makes him arrogant and uncompromising.”
Still, contemporary travelers note that women in Britain have more liberty than in other countries - they go places! by themselves! Amazing, right? And women begin to act on stage; to earn money as professional painters; to publish more books and plays.
📖 Servants:
“If you want to know what life in service is like for many women, think in terms of Cinderella’s daily grind of scouring, scrubbing, washing and polishing from before dawn to late at night - and having to comb the lice out of the hair of a man who beats you and forces you to have sex with him.”
📖 POC:
The concept of racism as we understand it does not exist yet. There are preconceptions about POC that are “deeply unpleasant”. I’m guessing that people are aware that there is slavery overseas that is financing their fine lifestyle, but they’d rather not think about it – and besides, they are not “like us.” There is debate on whether slaves should be considered free once they come to England (since there is no slavery there officially). What about those POC that have been baptised? Surely it’s wrong if a Christian enslaves another Christian. Interestingly enough, there are recorded legal cases with judges thinking like that, so that slaves are freed. Yes, sometimes there is hope for humanity...
📖 Don’t get me started on duels! It’s a miracle there were any earls and dukes left alive in Britain.
📖 Law and justice:
“If it is fairness you want from your legal system, I suggest you visit a period of history that prioritises the person over property, reality over religion, science over superstition, equity over influence and fairness over the process of law. In finding such a time, I wish you luck.”
📖 Beauty products:
“Puppy-oil” is distilled dog. No, I am not kidding. Girls, you are supposed to put that on your face and you’ll be beautiful. No comments.
📖 Cool new stuff:
Champagne! Fountain pens! Public transport! Coffee houses! Tea! First museums! (The museum geek says: this section should have been longer.) First public concerts!
This review is getting way too long, time to wrap up… I am kind of sad that I only have one book left in this series.
I love the closing lines of the last chapter, as the time traveler prepares to go to bed: “But therin lies a question: what does the day ahead hold? So many things, so many.”
And this last from the author:
“If you listen carefully at the door to the past, what you hear most - above all the distant sounds of daily life and death - is the beating of the most unstoppable heart.”
tracey_stewart's review against another edition
3.0
Thank God that's over.
Review at some point if I finish it.
Review at some point if I finish it.
kelbi's review against another edition
5.0
This is a totally brilliant book. Far far more than a history book. I have now read his books on medieval England and Elizabethan England. I loved both, but I think this one surpasses them. I listened on Audible and I think the narrator on this book was not quite so good as were the previous narrators but the book itself is so good I did not mind that too much.