Medicine in the Middle Ages

Juliana Cummings • £19.99
pen-and-sword.co.uk

The Middle Ages covers a span of roughly a thousand years, and through that time people were subject to an array of not only deadly diseases but deplorable living conditions. It was a time when cures for sickness were often worse than the illness itself mixed with a population of people who lacked any real understanding of sanitation and cleanliness.

Dive in to the history of medieval medicine, and learn how the foundations of healing were built on the knowledge of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers. Understand how your social status would have affected medical care, and how the domination of the Catholic Church was the basis of an abundant amount of fear regarding life and death.

We are given an intimate look into the devastating time of the Black Death, along with other horrific ailments that would have easily claimed a life in the Middle Ages. Delve inside the minds of the physicians and barbersurgeons for a better understanding of how they approached healing.

As well as diving into the treacherous waters of medieval childbirth, Cummings looks into the birth of hospitals and the care for the insane. We are also taken directly to the battlefield and given the gruesome details of medieval warfare and its repercussions. Examine the horrors of the torture chamber and execution as a means of justice.

Shell Shocked Britain

Suzie Grogan • £14.99
pen-and-sword.co.uk

We know that millions of soldiers were scarred by their experiences in the First World War trenches, but what happened after they returned home?

Suzie Grogan reveals the First World War’s disturbing legacy for soldiers and their families. How did a nation of broken men, and ‘spare’ women cope?

In 1922 the British Parliament published a report into the situation of thousands of ‘service patients’, or mentally ill ex-soldiers still in hospital. What happened to these men? Were they cured? What treatments were on offer? And what was the reception from their families and society?

Drawing on a huge mass of original sources, Suzie Grogan answers all those questions, combining individual case studies with a narrative on wider events. Unpublished material from the archives shows the true extent of the trauma experienced by the survivors. This is a fresh perspective on the history of the post-war period, and the plight of a traumatised nation.

The Tudor Socialite: A Social Calendar of Tudor Life

Jan-Marie Knights • £20
amberley-books.com

Delivered in bite-sized diary chunks, Jan-Marie Knights takes the reader on a journey into the world of Tudor high society. This is a world of love affairs, tragedy, marriage and death; the realm of flamboyant dress, opulent jewellery and burning passions.

The Tudor period continues to enchant and mesmerise the world, and here the reader can delve into the social calendar of the era. Running the gamut of society occasions – from solemn marriages to sombre funerals, and decadent feasts to lavish largescale gatherings – The Tudor Socialite is an essential book for any Tudor fan who wants to experience life as a wallflower in the Tudor court.

The Time Traveller’s Guide to Regency Britain

Ian Mortimer • £10.99
penguin.co.uk

A time of exuberance, thrills, frills and unchecked bad behaviour… Ian Mortimer turns to what is arguably the most-loved period in British history – the Regency, or Georgian England.

This is history at its most exciting, physical, visceral – the past not as something to be studied but as lived experience. This is Ian Mortimer at the height of his time-travelling prowess.