Book info

• Title The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
• Author Ian Mortimer
• Year 2008
• Genre History

Imagine you could travel back to the fourteenth century. What would you see, and hear, and smell? Where would you stay? What are you going to eat? And how are you going to test to see if you are going down with the plague? In The Time Traveller's Guide Ian Mortimer's radical new approach turns our entire understanding of history upside down. History is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived, whether that's the life of a peasant or a lord. The result is perhaps the most astonishing history book you are ever likely to read; as revolutionary as it is informative, as entertaining as it is startling.

Thoughts

After a mammoth Harry Potter marathon, I wanted something completely different to read. Non-fiction, check. Historical, check. Time-travelling? Sold! It started off well, and I thought the idea of approaching history from the perspective of living it, rather than blandly discussing what it might have been like, was a great one.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite sustain itself across the entire book. There were moments where it felt great - the author guides you through the streets of the city, and you can almost imagine yourself there. Other sections of it were more encyclopaedic though. I felt it would have stuck to the premise better if there had been more of a story - you actually meeting these types of people, rather than just pondering them.

Nevertheless, it was still an interesting read, with plenty of good facts and surprising insights into life in medieval times. It managed to break some misconceptions I had and raise my interest in the period another notch - and that’s always a good sign.

Rating: 3 / 5