SOCIAL SCIENCES

How To Be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Tudor Life

by Ruth Goodman
Liveright: Norton. Mar. 2016. 336p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781631491399. $29.95; ebk. ISBN 9781631491405. HIST
COPY ISBN
Goodman (How To Be a Victorian) is well known to lovers of BBC series such as Tudor Monastery Farm. Instead of kings and queens, this book focuses on the lives of ordinary people, from those in gentlemen's households to tenant farmers. Goodman leads readers through a typical day but manages to squeeze in quite a bit about children's education and the theater despite these experiences being uncommon to all people in the period. Chapters on men's and women's work explain in depth an everyman's trade or two, and while cheese and beer making are perhaps appealing topics to modern readers, the detailed instructions on how to prepare a field for plowing are perhaps less so. Later sections on washing and dressing are also particularly intriguing. Surprisingly, descriptions of food take up little space and are saved for the end.
VERDICT Goodman describes lifestyles she's lived herself; that personal commentary is something readers will not find in other histories. This book will be of special interest to fans of the miniseries Wolf Hall, in which the author served as a consultant.
Reviewed by Cate Hirschbiel, Iwasaki Lib., Emerson Coll., Boston , Feb 01, 2016
Comment Policy:
  • Be respectful, and do not attack the author, people mentioned in the article, or other commenters. Take on the idea, not the messenger.
  • Don't use obscene, profane, or vulgar language.
  • Stay on point. Comments that stray from the topic at hand may be deleted.
  • Comments may be republished in print, online, or other forms of media.
  • If you see something objectionable, please let us know. Once a comment has been flagged, a staff member will investigate.

RELATED 

NONFICTION

Barbie: Her Inspiration, History, and Legacy
by Gerber, Robin
NONFICTION

White Supremacy Is All Around: Notes from a Black Disabled Woman in a White World
by Cadet, Akilah
NONFICTION

Tits Up: What Sex Workers, Milk Bankers, Plastic Surgeons, Bra Designers, and Witches Tell Us About Breasts
by Thornton, Sarah
NONFICTION

Mutuality in El Barrio: Stories of the Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service
by Kasten, Carey & Brenna Moore
NONFICTION

The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels
by Prickett, Pamela & Stefan Timmermans
NONFICTION

Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll
by Lord, M.G.
More
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?

We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing

ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER?