The Royal Art of Poison: Filthy Palaces, Fatal Cosmetics, Deadly Medicine, and Murder Most Foul by Eleanor Herman Non-fiction books about chemistry, especially where chemistry and sociology intersect, are one of my fun go-to reads (or listens, in this case.) I was kind of hoping it would be like The Poisoner’s Handbook, which was like …
Tag: medieval
Mar 04
Book Review: Spinning Silver
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik The skilled author of the Temeraire series has turned the story of Rumpelstiltskin into an extremely satisfying fantasy novel in Spinning Silver. It takes a setting like medieval Russia, and the premise of a father caught bragging that his daughter can spin into gold, and expands it into an amazing …
Mar 10
Book Review: If Walls Could Talk
If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home by Lucy Worsley This book could more accurately be called “Every day life in pre-modern England.” It’s great for anyone who wants to learn about what every day life in England was like in the middle ages through the early 20th century. Categorized by themes …
Jan 07
Book Review: The Canterbury Tales, a Retelling by Peter Ackroyd
The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling by Peter Ackroyd I took a class in Middle English in college, and quickly realized that it was about as comprehensible as Dutch. Unlike Shakespeare, Middle English has to be translated. Too bad, because what I read of The Canterbury Tales seemed interesting. So when I saw this at the …