millie_yule's review against another edition
5.0
Really accessible and an entertaining read. The information given seemed accurate (and was properly cited!). I learnt a lot. Would recommend for anyone interested in everyday fourteenth century life. The best pop history I’ve read in a while
lisa_setepenre's review
3.0
Liza Picard’s Chaucer’s People is an intriguing book with a very good premise – taking at text that most people are aware of, if not familiar, and using it to explore the historical reality of that era, in this case Chaucer’s [b:The Canterbury Tales|2696|The Canterbury Tales|Geoffrey Chaucer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1261208589s/2696.jpg|986234] and life in late 14th century England. Picard uses each character as a jumping off point for her explorations of country, city, religious and military life.
Personally, I found each chapter varied in terms of interest levels. Some were a bit of a slog, others a breeze. Picard’s information is often given in concise, bite-sized sections so I would be wary that a “full picture” is being provided. A reader wanting to find more in-depth information about a particular subject might need to look for more references.
This isn’t a standard “everyday life” reference book, but a broad overview of different aspects of medieval life. While it doesn’t have the simplicity of the structure of those kinds of books, it does give a clear picture of the ways in which society was divided and how status impacted on people’s lives. Additionally, there are things I haven’t come across in the other “everyday life” books I’ve read (I appreciated that instead of reeling off the various fruit and vegetables available, Picard listed some medieval recipes, for instance), but it does lack the simplicity of that kind of format.
The writing is clear and accessible, with Picard’s presence well-felt and sometimes humorous.
But, while this is a useful source and formatted around an intriguing premise, it does have its drawbacks. Some of the content covered by Picard feels only tangentially related – I felt that the multi-page summary of Marco Polo’s adventures and [b:The Travels of Sir John Mandeville|964338|The Travels of Sir John Mandeville|John Mandeville|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1547378674s/964338.jpg|984851] went too long for something only tangentially related to Chaucer’s Shipman. And, as I said, my interest levels varied considerably between chapters based on the subjects covered. At one point, I was considering giving up on the book after one very dull chapter only to find the next one just skipped by.
3 stars.
Personally, I found each chapter varied in terms of interest levels. Some were a bit of a slog, others a breeze. Picard’s information is often given in concise, bite-sized sections so I would be wary that a “full picture” is being provided. A reader wanting to find more in-depth information about a particular subject might need to look for more references.
This isn’t a standard “everyday life” reference book, but a broad overview of different aspects of medieval life. While it doesn’t have the simplicity of the structure of those kinds of books, it does give a clear picture of the ways in which society was divided and how status impacted on people’s lives. Additionally, there are things I haven’t come across in the other “everyday life” books I’ve read (I appreciated that instead of reeling off the various fruit and vegetables available, Picard listed some medieval recipes, for instance), but it does lack the simplicity of that kind of format.
The writing is clear and accessible, with Picard’s presence well-felt and sometimes humorous.
But, while this is a useful source and formatted around an intriguing premise, it does have its drawbacks. Some of the content covered by Picard feels only tangentially related – I felt that the multi-page summary of Marco Polo’s adventures and [b:The Travels of Sir John Mandeville|964338|The Travels of Sir John Mandeville|John Mandeville|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1547378674s/964338.jpg|984851] went too long for something only tangentially related to Chaucer’s Shipman. And, as I said, my interest levels varied considerably between chapters based on the subjects covered. At one point, I was considering giving up on the book after one very dull chapter only to find the next one just skipped by.
3 stars.
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