How To Be a Tudor

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TRAVEL BACK IN TIME WITH THE BBC’S RUTH GOODMAN

We know all about the dramas that played out in the Tudor court – most notably those of Henry VIII – but what was life really like for a commoner like you or me?

To answer this question, the renowned “method historian” Ruth Goodman has slept, washed and cooked as the Tudors did – so you don’t have to!

She is your expert guide to this fascinating era, drawing on years of practical historical study to show how our ancestors coped with everyday life. Using a vast range of sources, she takes you back to when soot was used as toothpaste and the “upper crust” was served to the wealthier members of the house.

Exploring how the Tudors learnt, danced and even stood according to the latest fashion, she reveals what it all felt, smelt and tasted like, from morning until night.

If you enjoyed the writing of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory, you will love discovering the true stories.

*****

‘Ruth is the queen of living history, long may she reign!‘ Lucy Worsley

‘A deeply researched and endlessly fascinating account of what it was like to live as a Tudor’ Tracy Borman, author of Thomas Cromwell

‘Always entertaining, and her narrative is often lifted by the fact that she has taken the trouble to experience many of the alien aspects of Tudor life’ Observer

‘Goodman’s latest foray into immersive history is a revelation . . . It’s the next best thing to being there‘ Sarah Ferguson, New York Times Book ReviewMost historians simply research the past; she lives it … she’s experienced almost every activity she describes. This book is packed with delicious kernels of knowledge … all served up by the most delightfully eccentric author I’ve ever encountered. Seldom have I had so much fun reading history. Seldom have I learnt so much.—Gerard DeGroot, The Times

Always entertaining, and her narrative is often lifted by the fact that she has taken the trouble to experience many of the alien aspects of Tudor life … This imbues the book with a palpable sense of the texture of our ancestors’ day-to-day lives—Observer

Riveting. This is a real “people’s history” that takes us straight into the sensate feelings of ordinary life — the feel, touch, smells, and labour of people living five centuries ago, giving an earthy reality to our enduring fascination with the Tudors—Juliet Gardiner

A deeply researched and endlessly fascinating account of what it was like to live as a Tudor. The narrative is rich in period detail and based upon a thorough review of the contemporary sources, but what makes it unique is the fact that Goodman has put it all into practice – sleeping, eating, washing and dressing like a Tudor. As a result, How To Be a Tudor is one of very few books which can justifiably claim to bring every aspect of this enduringly popular period dazzlingly to life.—Tracy Borman, author of ‘Thomas Cromwell: The untold story of Henry VIII’s most faithful servant’

Ruth is the queen of living history, long may she reign!—Lucy Worsley

Fascinating immersive history—New York Times

Leisure activities like dancing, gambling, and trips to the bear-baiting arena are brought to life by imaginative readings of primary sources… Common wisdom on everything from the healthiest sleeping position (on the right) to how to conceive a male child (by tying a ribbon around the left testicle) rounds out this engaging, erudite guide—New Yorker

Goodman’s latest foray into immersive history is a revelation … It’s the next best thing to being there—Sarah Ferguson, New York Times Book Review

Her enthusiasm is exhilarating and contagious; her writing is clear and clean, sharply observant of tactile details and what they reveal about 16th-century life—Boston Globe

Engagingly written and awash in the practicalities of life in the age, it presents a vivid, fascinating era of British history and reminds us that we’re never as far from the past as we like to think—Genevieve Valentine, NPR

Immersive, engrossing—Laura Miller, Slate

Written with such passion . . . will fascinate and inform anyone who is interested in Victorian ways of life—Dr Ian Mortimer, author of ‘The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England’ on ‘How to Be a Victorian’

If we ever have a female Doctor Who, I shall forward Ruth Goodman’s name for consideration, not least because the historian has already done so much time travelling—The Times

Wonderful, informative, startling . . . Goodman’s unique selling proposition as a historian is that she walks the walk of her time period, even when that walk involves hard labor in a corset and a hoop skirt—New York Times (on ‘How to be a Victorian’)

Must-read!—Daily Mail

Goodman’s passion for her subject… comes across loud and clear—Yorkshire PostRuth Goodman is a historian who specializes in the everyday life of the past. She has written and presented numerous acclaimed BBC television series and is a regular presenter on the One Show. She is the author of How to be a Victorian, and has co-authored three other books, including the Number One Bestseller Victorian Farm.GB

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