The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century is a handbook about Late Medieval England by British historian Ian Mortimer. It was first published on 2 October 2008 by The Bodley Head,[1] and a later edition with more pages was released on 29 February 2012. The volume debunks and explains various myths about the period.[2]
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
Front cover of the US edition, with spelling of "Traveller" modified
The book is confined to the 14th century in England, with passing references to the Continent. Mortimer goes into details about food, clothing, building materials, the layout of houses, but also covers things like laws, customs, travel, entertainment. It is ground-breaking in historical literature in that it is written entirely in the present tense.[3]
All the illustrations in the volume were provided by British Library.[4]
Reception
The book is one of the best-selling social history titles of the twenty-first century, it reached number six on the Sunday Times paperback non-fiction bestseller list at Christmas 2009. The book has sold more than 250,000 paperback copies in the UK, 100,000 copies in the USA, and is published in several other languages.[5]
On first publication it was widely praised. Sue Arnold, writing in The Guardian, commented "After The Canterbury Tales this has to be the most entertaining book ever written about the Middle Ages." The historian Alison Weir stated,"It`s an incredible tour de force, a vivid and page-turning evocation of an age that is long-gone yet has been brought to life again in vibrant and robust fashion thanks to Ian Mortimer`s impeccable scholarship and pacy writing." Professor Steohen Howe, writing in The Independent, remarked that it was "Perhaps the most enjoyable history book I've read all year."
A review written by Kathryn Hughes for The Guardian praised the book's different approach and abundance of trivia, adding that "It is Monty Python and the Holy Grail with footnotes and, my goodness, it is fun... The result of this careful blend of scholarship and fancy is a jaunty journey through the 14th century, one that wriggles with the stuff of everyday life... [A] deft summary of life in the high medieval period."[6]The Washington Post's short review by Aaron Leitko vaunted the book as "Fodor's-style framework" and a travel book that gets into "heart of a different time zone".[7]
Tom Holland, writing for The Daily Telegraph, was a lone critical voice. He described the volume as an "old-fashioned study". Holland also proposed that Mortimer felt embarrassed to write a book about what was "familiar to a reader in the 19th century".[8] Mortimer addressed Holland's criticism by implying that Holland had failed to understand the book, going as far as to call Holland's review "bizarre". In his reply, Mortimer assumed that Holland wanted the book to be "semi-fictionalised" and explained that such an approach would trivialise his work, as the volume is intended to be useful to students, but also hoped to stand the "test of time".[9]
Sequels
The book has spawned several sequels such as:
The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England: a Handbook for Visitors to the Sixteenth Century was published in 2012 by Viking Press[10]
The Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain: Life in the Age of Samuel Pepys, Isaac Newton and The Great Fire of London by The Bodley Head in 2017[11]
The Time Traveller's Guide to Regency Britain was published in 2020 by Random House[12]
Popular culture
Various big YouTube historians—such as Raffaello Urbani ("Metatron")[13] and Skallagrim Nilsson—have produced videos about the book and endorsed it.[14]
References
^Mortimer, Ian (2008). The time traveller's guide to medieval England: a handbook for visitors to the fourteenth century. Bodley Head. OCLC 495415230. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
^Mortimer, Ian (29 February 2012). The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century. Random House. ISBN9781448103782.
^"Review: The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England". Magic Writer.
^Mortimer, Ian (29 February 2012). The time traveller's guide to medieval England : a handbook for visitors to the fourteenth century. Bodley Head. p. 318. ISBN978-1448103782.
^"The Official Time Traveller's Guides website". www.timetravellersguides.com.
^Hughes, Kathryn (24 October 2008). "Plague ahoy". The Guardian.
^Leitko, Aaron (14 February 2010). "Book review: 'The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England' by Ian Mortimer". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
^Holland, Tom (10 October 2008). "Review: The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer". The Daily Telegraph.
^"Ian Mortimer: What was new in 2008?". www.ianmortimer.com.
^Mortimer, Ian (1 March 2012). The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England. Random House. ISBN9781409029564.
^Mortimer, Ian (6 April 2017). The Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain: Life in the Age of Samuel Pepys, Isaac Newton and The Great Fire of London. Random House. ISBN9781448191970.
^Mortimer, Ian (2020-11-12). The Time Traveller's Guide to Regency Britain. Random House. ISBN978-1-4735-4798-8.
^"Medieval Towns, Houses, Population And Life Expectancy". YouTube. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
^"Being a Time Traveler in the Middle Ages - Probably Sucks!". YouTube. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
External links
The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England at Mortimer's website
January 29, 2023
time, traveller, guide, medieval, england, handbook, visitors, fourteenth, century, handbook, about, late, medieval, england, british, historian, mortimer, first, published, october, 2008, bodley, head, later, edition, with, more, pages, released, february, 20. The Time Traveller s Guide to Medieval England A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century is a handbook about Late Medieval England by British historian Ian Mortimer It was first published on 2 October 2008 by The Bodley Head 1 and a later edition with more pages was released on 29 February 2012 The volume debunks and explains various myths about the period 2 The Time Traveller s Guide to Medieval England A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth CenturyFront cover of the US edition with spelling of Traveller modifiedAuthorIan MortimerCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishSeriesTime Traveller s GuideSubject14th century EnglandGenreHistoryPublisherThe Bodley HeadPublished in English2 October 2008Media typePrintPages319ISBN0224079948Followed byThe Time Traveller s Guide to Elizabethan England The book is confined to the 14th century in England with passing references to the Continent Mortimer goes into details about food clothing building materials the layout of houses but also covers things like laws customs travel entertainment It is ground breaking in historical literature in that it is written entirely in the present tense 3 Contents 1 Illustrations 2 Reception 3 Sequels 4 Popular culture 5 References 6 External linksIllustrations EditAll the illustrations in the volume were provided by British Library 4 Reception EditThe book is one of the best selling social history titles of the twenty first century it reached number six on the Sunday Times paperback non fiction bestseller list at Christmas 2009 The book has sold more than 250 000 paperback copies in the UK 100 000 copies in the USA and is published in several other languages 5 On first publication it was widely praised Sue Arnold writing in The Guardian commented After The Canterbury Tales this has to be the most entertaining book ever written about the Middle Ages The historian Alison Weir stated It s an incredible tour de force a vivid and page turning evocation of an age that is long gone yet has been brought to life again in vibrant and robust fashion thanks to Ian Mortimer s impeccable scholarship and pacy writing Professor Steohen Howe writing in The Independent remarked that it was Perhaps the most enjoyable history book I ve read all year A review written by Kathryn Hughes for The Guardian praised the book s different approach and abundance of trivia adding that It is Monty Python and the Holy Grail with footnotes and my goodness it is fun The result of this careful blend of scholarship and fancy is a jaunty journey through the 14th century one that wriggles with the stuff of everyday life A deft summary of life in the high medieval period 6 The Washington Post s short review by Aaron Leitko vaunted the book as Fodor s style framework and a travel book that gets into heart of a different time zone 7 Tom Holland writing for The Daily Telegraph was a lone critical voice He described the volume as an old fashioned study Holland also proposed that Mortimer felt embarrassed to write a book about what was familiar to a reader in the 19th century 8 Mortimer addressed Holland s criticism by implying that Holland had failed to understand the book going as far as to call Holland s review bizarre In his reply Mortimer assumed that Holland wanted the book to be semi fictionalised and explained that such an approach would trivialise his work as the volume is intended to be useful to students but also hoped to stand the test of time 9 Sequels EditThe book has spawned several sequels such as The Time Traveller s Guide to Elizabethan England a Handbook for Visitors to the Sixteenth Century was published in 2012 by Viking Press 10 The Time Traveller s Guide to Restoration Britain Life in the Age of Samuel Pepys Isaac Newton and The Great Fire of London by The Bodley Head in 2017 11 The Time Traveller s Guide to Regency Britain was published in 2020 by Random House 12 Popular culture EditVarious big YouTube historians such as Raffaello Urbani Metatron 13 and Skallagrim Nilsson have produced videos about the book and endorsed it 14 References Edit Mortimer Ian 2008 The time traveller s guide to medieval England a handbook for visitors to the fourteenth century Bodley Head OCLC 495415230 Retrieved 15 January 2021 Mortimer Ian 29 February 2012 The Time Traveller s Guide to Medieval England A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century Random House ISBN 9781448103782 Review The Time Traveller s Guide to Medieval England Magic Writer Mortimer Ian 29 February 2012 The time traveller s guide to medieval England a handbook for visitors to the fourteenth century Bodley Head p 318 ISBN 978 1448103782 The Official Time Traveller s Guides website www timetravellersguides com Hughes Kathryn 24 October 2008 Plague ahoy The Guardian Leitko Aaron 14 February 2010 Book review The Time Traveler s Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer The Washington Post Retrieved 25 November 2018 Holland Tom 10 October 2008 Review The Time Traveller s Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer The Daily Telegraph Ian Mortimer What was new in 2008 www ianmortimer com Mortimer Ian 1 March 2012 The Time Traveller s Guide to Elizabethan England Random House ISBN 9781409029564 Mortimer Ian 6 April 2017 The Time Traveller s Guide to Restoration Britain Life in the Age of Samuel Pepys Isaac Newton and The Great Fire of London Random House ISBN 9781448191970 Mortimer Ian 2020 11 12 The Time Traveller s Guide to Regency Britain Random House ISBN 978 1 4735 4798 8 Medieval Towns Houses Population And Life Expectancy YouTube Retrieved 23 October 2017 Being a Time Traveler in the Middle Ages Probably Sucks YouTube Retrieved 30 November 2017 External links EditThe Time Traveler s Guide to Medieval England at Mortimer s website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Time Traveller 27s Guide to Medieval England amp oldid 1102753770, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
