A Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England - Ian Mortimer

By
⭐9/10

Another history book about medieval England. I can't give them up! This was a bit of a unique one in that I heard this guy on a podcast I listen to and found him super entertaining and so I got his book. Didn't disappoint! 

The thing that sets this book apart is that it's not a narrative history and doesn't focus in on any figures in particular, but rather is about what life would be like if you were transported to your average medieval English town. It goes over what you'd eat, drink, the work you'd do, entertainment you'd enjoy, and kinda just day to day lifestyle stuff. I eat this stuff up, and Mortimer is a wonderful writer with plenty of charm and humour. 

Lots of super interesting insights and tidbits to go around. I think some of my biggest takeaways, which I knew some about, was the insane medical field and how death is always around the corner. He talks about having 7 kids in hopes that 4 survive, or that by 40 you're thinking about the twilight of your life. I mean it makes sense, knowing how a number of things in my life would have been likely fatal in those days. He also talks about rampant lawlessness, wars, bandits, and really just the complete lack of empathy by most people, and when you hear about all that, it's hard not to think we've made a lot of progress even given all the issues of today. Cock fighting was just a fun little hobby the kids played in the yard! 

Overall, a fun topic that is superbly written. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more books by Mortimer - he's made a fan of me. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Philosopher in the Valley & My Reflections on Leaving Palantir

By
Image
This book was perfectly timed to my paternity leave, a time where I was not actively working and could reflect on my job. The post will be a short review of the book, followed by a much longer section where I will attempt to verbalize all my thoughts on Palantir. Thoughts on my time there, what I did and didn't like, and why I am leaving. I am not writing this as some manifesto. I have been explaining to a bunch of people in my life why I have been considering leaving, and my thoughts never feel coherent, the reasons change day to day. This is for myself to reflect, and I might even continue to edit it as I remember things. I thought this book was excellent, a biography of Alex Karp, but also a tale of Palantir's history. The author was around Karp for an extended period of time, providing a lot of details that even I did not know. It lays out all the Palantir milestones over the years, many of which I remember quite clearly, but hearing about it with a bit more distance is co...
Read more

My Favourite Books of 2025

By
Image
    I read a lot of books this year as usual, and spanning a ton of different genres and categories. That's pretty evident in my favourites as well, as I have a book or two from most of the genres I read, and I loved them all for different reasons.     Most of these will be repeats from some of my monthly favourites, but these are the ones that really stood the test of time! Here they are, in no particular order.      This fantasy book from an underrated author is about Maeve, whose hands were badly burnt as a child, and so she has lost the use of them. She has spent the last ten years with her aunt and uncle, who were healers, but now she's finally returning home to the family she barely knows anymore. She feels misplaced as they're still adjusting to how she needs to do things now, but she finds solace in her youngest brother and the stray dogs she adopts. When they all disappear into the forest one day, she goes after them, and adventures begin....
Read more

November Reading Favourites

By
Image
This book blew me away, and that was after I already loved The Six Deaths of the Saint, the short story she wrote that inspired her to turn it into a full novel. Owen is a scholar of Dominion who studies the mythology of Saint Una Everlasting. He suddenly gets sent into the past to meet her and record her story, so he journeys with her to find the grail, knowing that in the end she will be betrayed. The central relationship in this book is gorgeous, filled with yearning and devotion. All of the characters and relationships are so rich, with fascinating character arcs. But I was equally entranced by what it was saying about mythology, nationalism, and empire. In my opinion, Harrow is just getting better and better.   This is what to read if you want a book about a magical school with dragons that is actually good and cares about its world-building. In an alternate version of our world, Anequs is a young Indigenous woman living happily on her island when a dragon lays an egg and the ...
Read more