The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England

A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century

By: Ian Mortimer

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Imagine you could travel back to the 14th century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? And what are you going to eat?

Ian Mortimer shows us that the past is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived. He sets out to explain what life was like in the most immediate way, through taking you to the Middle Ages.

The result is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: evolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail, and startling for its portrayal of humanity in an age of violence, exuberance and fear.

©2008 Ian Mortimer (P)2009 Isis Publishing Ltd

Critic reviews

"A jaunty journey through the 14th century, one that wriggles with the stuff of everyday life." ( Guardian)

Absolutely wonderful

I fell in love with this book. I already have a fascination with medieval time. The narrator did a wonderful job. I decided to leave a review. I’m really bad at not doing so. I have listened to this book at least 10 times in the last year. I would love more like this one.

Wonderful read.

Read more of this Author. Dreams come true. A detailed creation. Now and forever please

Unique Presentation

Hmmm... History as a travelogue.

The format works extremely well here. While the actual history is well, pedestrian, that's not the point.

By framing the exposition as "Here is what you'll find..." or "this might surprise you..." the reader is engaged with the culture on an intuitive level seldom experienced outside the trappings of historical fiction.

Wishing I could go there!

This book is amongst the best I heard so far and a great idea bringing history to life. The author has lead a group of listeners as tourists back to 14th century England and lead us about the country pointing out interesting things and explaining their significance both to the times and also to the future.

The Time Traveller

A unique approach to telling the every day lives of the peoples that lived during this period in world history. Most books that give over views of a large historical period usually get lost in the names and dates of this and that, by using a travel log approach Mr Mortimer puts you into the period.

Engaging!

Written in an engaging style - definitely not dry or 'text-book' style - very much like a travel guide to a location. It connected activities, events, and customs to present day. Jonathan Keeble's performance was so fluid, it was as though you could've been sitting across from him in a pub just having a chat. I just came back from a trip to England and had a marvelous time - wished I had listened to this before! Having visited some of the locales mentioned really fleshed out the imagery for me.

Awesome if you love history

What made the experience of listening to The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England the most enjoyable?

This book is incredibly easy to listen to. The narration is wonderful.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England?

The author really gets into the sights sounds and smell of life, and just draws you in. While I was super enjoyong all the descriptions, I ended with a new appreciation for present-day.

Any additional comments?

This is one of those books that you can put on in the background while you're busy and if you miss a part, it's not absolutely crucial for you to back it up. It's interesting enough that I've probably listened to it 3 or 4 times...and will likely listen again sometime :) Overall, this book was well worth my time.

A nice introduction to Medieval England

I enjoyed the interesting details of the times that I got from the book and had a lot of my own myths corrected. The framing device of being a tour guide for time travelers was fine, however the author seemed to feel the need to justify the device repeatedly, as if he was an academic wary of being accused of engaging in 'popular' writing without the most noble of intentions. All that was boring and pointless, but only made up a small portion of the book. Occasionally the narrative lapsed into lists and dates that were not very useful in an audiobook.

I listened to the whole thing in 2x time and didn't feel like I missed anything as the reader was very clear and easy on the ears.

I lovely romp through medieval England!

A beautiful tale where you really do feel you are experiencing England during the fourteenth century.

Awesome!

Exactly what I was looking for ' great performance also, I need six more words , great book!