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izzylmcdonald's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
Informative, but seemed to lack an engaging narrative voice to deliver information.
chicksroguesandscandals's review against another edition
5.0
This book instantly caught my attention, not only is it written by the amazing Ruth Goodman, but it covers a subject which I am not only interested in, but I feel a huge connection to. I have lived with a coal fire in the home for as long as I can remember, coal runs through my very veins. The number of times I have toasted bread on long-handled forks in front of the fire, or boiled water when the cooker failed us, our coal fire kept us warm, fed us, kept us in hot water and brought the family together.
I may be one of the very few in the world to say this, but I miss my coal fire, I miss the burning smell of hot coals swirling through my home, I miss going out in all weather to lug back in a bucket of filthy coal – I even miss my cheeky coalmen and if I had the chance to have another I would in a heart beat.
Hmm, I went a wee bit of track there…
I am passionate about sharing the stories of those who not only risked their lives by going deep into the earth to retrieve the previous black gold but passionate about the history of those ordinary men and women (and children) who relied on coal. But, also I am interested in the history of using coal within the homes and the history behind how that came to be, this book was like the holy grail to me, I needed to read it, and I am pleased to say Domestic Revolution didn’t disappoint.
Domestic Revolution is a fascinating fully engaging read, written by an author who not just knows her history, but really loves it. Ruth Goodman is an incredibly skilful writer, the way she lays out the history and facts it’s like she is actually telling you face to face, if you have watched her amazing TV history docu-drama’s where she lives in a specific era for a year then you know how knowledgeable and what a fabulous educator and narrator she is.
This book not only talks about the ways coal was used in homes but of its origins too we travel back to the 16th century as Goodman walks us through the first stages of how and why people began using coal and turning away from wood to heat their homes, how and what they fed their families and the link with the soap and its usage in the country is enlightening, it makes perfect sense that the more coal we use the more soap is needed but it’s not the first thing you think of when your think of solid fuel is it?
What I particularly love about this, and it is another reason I was so keen to read it is that it really focusses on the ordinary person’s lives, we see how coal changed the life of ordinary hard-working people how the occurrence of coal to fuel their homes that it was far cheaper to get their hands on the good wood.
As Goodman says throughout the books and what she continually hints at as you read, the ordinary domestic history of those who came before us and their stories, how they lived and survived are important, knowing the unnamed persons of history and their tales is important. As some who is passionate about learning more about my own ancestry and how my ordinary, coal mining ancestors lived this book really speaks to me.
Domestic Revolution is a must-read for any who has a passion for their own history, it’s fully engaging and very easy to read and one I would recommend everyone to read.
I may be one of the very few in the world to say this, but I miss my coal fire, I miss the burning smell of hot coals swirling through my home, I miss going out in all weather to lug back in a bucket of filthy coal – I even miss my cheeky coalmen and if I had the chance to have another I would in a heart beat.
Hmm, I went a wee bit of track there…
I am passionate about sharing the stories of those who not only risked their lives by going deep into the earth to retrieve the previous black gold but passionate about the history of those ordinary men and women (and children) who relied on coal. But, also I am interested in the history of using coal within the homes and the history behind how that came to be, this book was like the holy grail to me, I needed to read it, and I am pleased to say Domestic Revolution didn’t disappoint.
Domestic Revolution is a fascinating fully engaging read, written by an author who not just knows her history, but really loves it. Ruth Goodman is an incredibly skilful writer, the way she lays out the history and facts it’s like she is actually telling you face to face, if you have watched her amazing TV history docu-drama’s where she lives in a specific era for a year then you know how knowledgeable and what a fabulous educator and narrator she is.
This book not only talks about the ways coal was used in homes but of its origins too we travel back to the 16th century as Goodman walks us through the first stages of how and why people began using coal and turning away from wood to heat their homes, how and what they fed their families and the link with the soap and its usage in the country is enlightening, it makes perfect sense that the more coal we use the more soap is needed but it’s not the first thing you think of when your think of solid fuel is it?
What I particularly love about this, and it is another reason I was so keen to read it is that it really focusses on the ordinary person’s lives, we see how coal changed the life of ordinary hard-working people how the occurrence of coal to fuel their homes that it was far cheaper to get their hands on the good wood.
As Goodman says throughout the books and what she continually hints at as you read, the ordinary domestic history of those who came before us and their stories, how they lived and survived are important, knowing the unnamed persons of history and their tales is important. As some who is passionate about learning more about my own ancestry and how my ordinary, coal mining ancestors lived this book really speaks to me.
Domestic Revolution is a must-read for any who has a passion for their own history, it’s fully engaging and very easy to read and one I would recommend everyone to read.
rebeccabadger's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
caaleros's review against another edition
3.0
Ruth Goodman’s books are amazing not only because she’s done the research, but because she’s lived the history. No, she’s not immortal or a time-traveler, Goodman’s spent her career trying out historical methods of living to see how they work. Because of her unique perspective, Goodman adds to the conversation about the domestic revolution and how it influenced all of society.
The choice made by regular people to switch from wood-fire to coal had multiple domino effects in society. Reading nonfiction does not come naturally to me, so I struggled through the first half, but I stayed with it because of the amazing anecdotes Goodman writes which give a practical human account of what it’s like to cook with over a dung fire or to clean laundry with wood ash and lye. The second half of the book pulled me in more and I was fascinated by the effects switching to coal had on cooking and what meals and methods were used, and the impact it had on cleaning. The Domestic Revolution shows that Goodman’s practical knowledge about history goes beyond telling readers how people lived in a certain era, it also can add to academic conversations by elevating the perspectives of everyday men and women in history whose choices in daily life affected society, but whose voices are rarely heard.
The choice made by regular people to switch from wood-fire to coal had multiple domino effects in society. Reading nonfiction does not come naturally to me, so I struggled through the first half, but I stayed with it because of the amazing anecdotes Goodman writes which give a practical human account of what it’s like to cook with over a dung fire or to clean laundry with wood ash and lye. The second half of the book pulled me in more and I was fascinated by the effects switching to coal had on cooking and what meals and methods were used, and the impact it had on cleaning. The Domestic Revolution shows that Goodman’s practical knowledge about history goes beyond telling readers how people lived in a certain era, it also can add to academic conversations by elevating the perspectives of everyday men and women in history whose choices in daily life affected society, but whose voices are rarely heard.
alexisrt's review against another edition
4.0
Domestic history has often been overlooked, especially by male historians, but the work of the home has had a substantial effect on human life. You might think that a change in fuel source is pretty boring and a relatively small footnote, but Goodman makes the case that the change from wood to coal in Britain resulted in substantial changes in how houses were run. As usual Goodman has done a lot of historical recreations and re-enactment as well as paper research, and so you get a lot of first information on how things work from home heating to laundry. It was surprisingly entertaining and a fast read.
portybelle's review against another edition
4.0
The Domestic Revolution is such an interesting and very readable book looking at how using coal changed the way people in Britain lived. It’s a comprehensive account beginning with what people used to use for heating or to cook with (in general wood) and detailing the pros and cons of each method. I kept reading out little facts which caught my attention to my husband, such as when London first started using coal more widely in the 16th century, it was cheaper to bring it by sea from Newcastle than over land from closer coal producing areas.
I was really fascinated to find out the difference chimneys made. Did you know that they enabled us to have more than one floor in a house? Previously all the smoke gathered, of course, at the top of a dwelling so people basically lived at floor level. This in turn led to multi storey living and therefore higher density populations in cities.
I was also surprised to learn that in 17th century London many people may have chosen to eat out or get a takeaway from a pie shop. This may seem odd if you consider that many people were very poor. But it may well have been cheaper to do this than cook yourself when this would involve fuel costs, time to cook which could have been spent working (and therefore earning) and also because people may not have had much by the way of cooking facilities in crowded accommodation. In wealthier households, dirtier coal would have been used in servants areas and kitchens, while more expensive but cleaner wood would have been used in the householder’s area – a sign of status.
I was particularly interested in the changes the switch to coal made to how we cooked and what we ate. Cooking vessels and ovens were adapted and food was cooked in a different way. Food we may consider traditionally British such as roasts and steamed puddings all became possible because of coal. It affected how dishes were cleaned as different kinds of food were able to be prepared but pots etc needed cleaning in different ways. It affected the way people cleaned their houses as coal produced a different kind of dirt. It even changed the way people decorated and furnished their houses.
Ruth Goodman’s obvious enthusiasm shines through and her personal experiences of trying out the various methods spoken about in the book really add credibility to her writing. She brings history to life in this fascinating and accessible read.
I was really fascinated to find out the difference chimneys made. Did you know that they enabled us to have more than one floor in a house? Previously all the smoke gathered, of course, at the top of a dwelling so people basically lived at floor level. This in turn led to multi storey living and therefore higher density populations in cities.
I was also surprised to learn that in 17th century London many people may have chosen to eat out or get a takeaway from a pie shop. This may seem odd if you consider that many people were very poor. But it may well have been cheaper to do this than cook yourself when this would involve fuel costs, time to cook which could have been spent working (and therefore earning) and also because people may not have had much by the way of cooking facilities in crowded accommodation. In wealthier households, dirtier coal would have been used in servants areas and kitchens, while more expensive but cleaner wood would have been used in the householder’s area – a sign of status.
I was particularly interested in the changes the switch to coal made to how we cooked and what we ate. Cooking vessels and ovens were adapted and food was cooked in a different way. Food we may consider traditionally British such as roasts and steamed puddings all became possible because of coal. It affected how dishes were cleaned as different kinds of food were able to be prepared but pots etc needed cleaning in different ways. It affected the way people cleaned their houses as coal produced a different kind of dirt. It even changed the way people decorated and furnished their houses.
Ruth Goodman’s obvious enthusiasm shines through and her personal experiences of trying out the various methods spoken about in the book really add credibility to her writing. She brings history to life in this fascinating and accessible read.
summerfjord's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
The book is really, really interesting and easy to follow, despite being full of info and facts.
However the audiobook narrator was not very confident with latin and foreign names and instead tended to mumble them. I also wish she had had more feeling when reading, as the tone and speed were slightly sleep inducing..
However the audiobook narrator was not very confident with latin and foreign names and instead tended to mumble them. I also wish she had had more feeling when reading, as the tone and speed were slightly sleep inducing..