How to be a Tudor : a dawn-to-dusk guide to Tudor life

**From an historian who advised on the BBC’s __Wolf Hall__, an erudite romp through the intimate details of life in Tudor England.** On the heels of her triumphant __How to Be a Victorian__, Ruth Goodman travels even further back in English history to the era closest to her heart, the dramatic period from the crowning of Henry VII to the death of Elizabeth I. Drawing on her own adventures living in re-created Tudor conditions, Goodman serves as our intrepid guide to sixteenth-century living. Proceeding from daybreak to bedtime, this charming, illustrative work celebrates the ordinary lives of those who labored through the era. From sounding the “hue and cry” to alert a village to danger to malting grain for homemade ale, from the gruesome sport of bear-baiting to cuckolding and cross-dressing―the madcap habits and revealing intimacies of life in the time of Shakespeare are vividly rendered for the insatiably curious. 8 pages of color illustrations Beginning at dawn with the cock's rousing crow and proceeding into either Catholic abstinence or Protestant-approved marital relations at nightfall, this charming work celebrates the ordinary lives of those who labored through the dramatic Tudor era. Goodman draws on her own hands-on experience living on a replicated Tudor farm to bring all the sights, smells, and appetites of this era to visceral, vibrant life. The Tudor period began in 1485 with the crowning of Henry VII, proceeded through Henry VIII's tumultuous reign, and ended with the death of his daughter, Elizabeth I, in 1603. It was a time of unprecedented upheaval. Henry VIII's break with Rome and establishment of a new church turned the religious rituals of everyday life upside down, as did the terror invoked under the subsequent rule of "Bloody Mary." Historians traditionally have focused on the royals, while the lives of common families ensnared within their political machinations have been largely ignored. Examining the overlooked majority with unrivaled insight and empathy, Goodman scours firsthand accounts and public records to uncover a trove of irresistible minutiae--the strictly enforced sumptuary laws, for example, required that clothing indicate class, age, profession, and even financial well-being. Goodman pants and whirls through Tudor dance steps, sleeps soundly atop rushes piled on the floor, painstakingly assembles an Elizabethan ruff, and navigates the arduous and sometimes dangerous task of plowing a field in inclement weather. Enduring each chore with her trademark wit and enthusiasm, Goodman serves as our intrepid guide to the revealing habits and intimacies of life in the time of Sir Walter Raleigh and Shakespeare. -- Adapted from dust jacket "Drawing on her own adventures living in re-created Tudor conditions, Goodman serves as our ... guide to sixteenth-century living. Proceeding from daybreak to bedtime, this ... illustrative work celebrates the ordinary lives of those who labored through the era. From sounding the hue and cry to alert a village to danger to malting grain for homemade ale, from the gruesome sport of bear-baiting cuckolding and cross-dressing--the madcap habits and revealing intimacies of life in the time of Shakespeare are ... rendered for the insatiably curious"--Amazon.com. At cock's crow To wash or not to wash Dressing Breakfast Education Dinner Men's work Women's work A time to play Supper And so to bed.