Book Description
Born a sprightly Quaker farm girl in the North Carolina wilderness, Dolley Payne became a wife, a mother, and soon a grieving young widow as yellow fever decimated her family. Then fate led her to James Madison, father of the Constitution, a future president, and the dearest love of her life. "Our hearts understand each other," she wrote to him in 1805. Four years later, Madison was elected president and Dolley became the nation's "Presidentress," for the term "First Lady" had yet to be invented.
Her enthusiasm was infectious. When eminent statesman Henry Clay exclaimed, "Everybody loves Mrs. Madison," she responded, "That's because Mrs. Madison loves everybody!" Dolley's immense warmth, effervescence, tact, and popularity were acknowledged even by her husband's political opponents. In 1808, Federalist presidential candidate Charles C. Pinckney lamented, "I was beaten by Mr. and Mrs. Madison. I might have had a better chance had I faced Mr. Madison alone."
The personal heroism she displayed when the British attacked Washington during the War of 1812, and the courage and integrity that characterized her entire life, made her an extraordinary role model. By the time of her death at the age of eighty-one in 1849, she was one of the most-acclaimed, most-loved women in nineteenth-century America. Based on more than 2,000 of Dolley Payne Todd Madison's letters, this intimate portrait explores the mind, heart, and brave journey of a vivacious, dedicated woman, who triumphed over adversity, poverty, and tragedy to help build the new American republic and define the role of First Lady of the land.
The 6" x 9" book is based chiefly on primary source documents, notably Dolley's own correspondence. It features 464 pages; acid-free, eye-ease paper; 91 illustrations and maps; James Madison and Dolley Payne family trees; a bibliography; extensive source notes; and a full name and subject index.
Customer Reviews:
4 stars for subject, 2 stars for execution..........2006-08-01
Strength and Honor: The Life of Dolley Madison by Richard Cote is fascinating at times, but not always well written. I would rate it 4 starts for subject and 2 stars for execution.
Dolley Payne Madison was one of our most beloved First Ladies and the queen of Washington society. In fact, she set the standards for graciousness and hospitality that present first ladies strive to match. How she ended up in the White House is an amazing story. The child of southern plantation Quakers, her father freed all his slaves (according to Quaker beliefs), which forced him to give up his agrarian way of life. He moved his large family to Philadelphia to make his way (unsuccessfully) as a merchant. At this time, Philadelphia became the capital of the United States for ten years while Washington was being built. The young, beautiful, but modest Dolley found herself in the middle of much excitement. She married a Quaker lawyer, John Todd, and bore two sons. Life looked good for the young Todd's. But the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 claimed the lives of her husband, her infant son and her in-laws.
Within a year, she met married James Madison, father of our Constitution, wealthy plantation owner and Virginia congressman. The warm, lovely, vivacious and buxom Dolley was the perfect anecdote for the dour and understated Madison, who was 17 years her senior. Madison's star was on the rise as he became Jefferson's secretary of state for 8 years and then president for two terms. In fact, it was Dolley's personality that was in large part responsible for his re-election. His opponent, Charles C. Pinckney noted "I was beaten by Mr. and Mrs. Madison. I might have had a better chance had I faced Mr. Madison alone." Dolley will probably best be remembered for her heroism in saving White House treasures before the British torched it during the War of 1812.
Unfortunately, the writing style of Mr. Cote detracts from this story. First, the book seems disorganized and he jumps around (forward and backward) between years. He has a tendency to repeat the same facts over and over again. The book is filled with illustrations, but many of them are untitled (you have to check the Illustrations Credits at the end). And the list of family members from the Payne and Madison families is very unhelpful and poorly organized. A regular family tree would have been much better. Once Madison dies, Cote gives us only the sketchiest information about Dolley's life. Overall, I felt Strength and Honor did not live up to its potential.
Still, it was interesting to read about a time when our country was young, Washington DC was in its infancy and each president was trying to determine exactly what the role of president should entail. The Madison's also had a good number of influential friends and family members. This list included neighbors Jefferson and Monroe, as well as Dolley's cousin, Patrick Henry.
Having never read much about Dolley Madison, I found Strength and Honor an interesting book. I just feel that the author could have made it a much stronger work.
Got whiplash trying to go back and forth but still lots of good facts!.......2005-11-27
This book was at least not a completely sterile historical work. I have always been interested in the life of Dolley Madison. While it's clear that Mr. Cote' loves history and is excellent at fact gathering, I felt this book was poorly constructed, which is a shame, given the wealth of material. Still, not a bad book to read to glean more information on a very important woman in history.
Great Subject, Clunky Writing, Passionate Author.......2005-07-14
I've never read any biography on Dolley Madison before and I'm glad to have read this. It was a good use of my time and I am now in love with Dolley Madison. I've also selected several chapters of this book for my daughter to read to help her with her AP History class next year. She and I have enjoyed discussing various aspects of Dolley's incredible life.
My daughter's and my only complaint is the clunky writing style, and the almost constant interruption of the chronological flow of the book. Someone's dead, then they're alive again. Some parts were so hard to understand, I had to just skip past them.
Still, it was a worthy book and I'm glad that I read it. Cote's passion for Dolley is evident and I was very pleased that he presented her in the best possible light and did not hold back his profuse praise of this worthy woman. No political correctness. He treats with compassion her conflicts of slave ownership.
As I read the chapter, Hostess to Heroine, I actually found myself indignant and angry with the British for burning the President's House. I also was very disgusted with her son, Payne Todd, for his miserable, cruel neglect of his mother in her last years.
The Forgotten Heroine and Co-President.......2005-05-13
Richard N. Côté, is a historian with a background in eighteenth and nineteenth century history of the South. Côté is a journalist and has served as a staff member of the South Carolina Historical Society. Côté has written several other books including Mary's World: Love, War and Family Ties to Nineteenth-century Charleston, The Redneck Riviera, and Theodosia Burr Alston: Portrait of a Prodigy. Mr. Côté is also the Editor-In-Chief of Corinthian Books and when he is not busy researching or writing new material he spends his time traveling across the country to speak, teach, and hold book discussion and signing events.
In the introduction Côté lets the reader know that he became a serious fan of Dolley Madison while he was writing his first biography Mary's World: Love, War and Family Ties to Nineteenth-century Charleston. One of Côté's purposes in writing this book is to educate the majority of Americans under fifty whom in his opinion only know about Dolley Madison through her famous image on snack cakes and ice cream packages. His goal is to present a complete portrayal of the life and times of Dolley Madison that both fans and non-fans alike will find entertaining to read. Côté states at the outset that this is not going to be a biography that reads like an encyclopedia but a book, which he hopes, will spark more people to become fans of Dolley Madison. Côté examined the papers of Dolley at the University of Virginia and set out to try and find material that had not been available or used before by previous books on Dolley.
Côté describes in detail the bravery that Dolley displayed on August 24, 1814. Dolley stayed as long as possible at the White House in waiting for her husband to return. Dolley
arranged to bring with her what she felt to be of value to the new nation. She should be remembered for the rest of her life for what she saved for our country and her Strength and Honor. Côté discusses in exacting detail the previous two years of fighting that had already occurred. It is almost as if one is in the battle that he is describing.
The second chapter starts out with the birth of Dolley Madison and then explains her confusing and complex family ancestry. Côté provides a thorough history lesson on everything one needs to know about the everyday life of a Quaker. Côté also
describes all the rules and regulations in finite detail for all things a Quaker is supposed to abide by. Côté identifies whom in Dolley's family is no longer a Quaker and how they become Anglicans.
Then Côté describes how Dolley felt every time her family moved somewhere else and her close relationship with her many
siblings. Côté focuses on the little known fact that for many
year Mrs. Madison's first name was spelled incorrectly as "Dolly" and not "Dolley." This happened he explains through her biographers and in early encyclopedias and so after her death many commercial companies continued to spell her name wrong. To date he notes that there has been much confusion about how long she lived in North Carolina and what her actual birth date was.
Côté paints a picture of the various homes and communities Dolley lived in while she was growing up in North Carolina and Virginia. He describes the types of furniture that was in the houses. He discusses Dolley's cousin Patrick Henry and what it was like for her and her family to live at his large Scotchtown house. Côté identifies how Anglican children are brought up and compares them to how Quaker children are brought up. During the time that Dolley was born women were not educated, she was brought up to be a proper lady, respect her family and
be very polite in society. Dolley learned the domestic arts early as she was the eldest daughter in a planter's family. Quakers were not supposed to abuse slaves and were the 1st for emancipation.
Dolley's family moved once again this time from Virginia to Philadelphia. Her father John Payne had chosen to manumit his slaves, move the family to the city, and become a laundry starch maker. Dolley had been a simple girl from the country and Côté thinks that this is when Dolley learned all about fashion and sophistication. Côté considers this to have been like a "fashion education" to Dolley and that she would remember what she learned when she became Thomas Jefferson's official hostess at the White House.
Côté jumps back and fourth between what is currently happening in Dolley's life and then describes what James Madison, Jr. is doing, which is years before Dolley even met him. The reader is introduced to the man who became Dolly's first husband John Todd, Jr. in 1790. Dolley has two children with her first husband. Yellow fever strikes and Dolley loses her husband, her youngest son William Temple Todd and her in-laws in 1793. While Dolley was still in mourning her close friend Aaron Burr, the guardian of her surviving son John Payne Todd informed her that James Madison, Jr. wished to meet her.
Dolley married James Madison, Jr. who was seventeen years older then her less then a year after her first husband had passed away. Madison was not a Quaker, he was an Anglican planter and a major slaveholder. Dolley was disowned by the Quakers because of marrying outside her religion. The Madison's were married for forty-two years by the time James passed away in 1836. Côté describe what types of clothing the bride, the groom, and the guests might have worn to the wedding. Although Dolley had ceased to be a Quaker she still lived by the
"moral integrity" she had learned.
When Dolley returned to Philadelphia after her wedding she became immersed in all the culture, fashion, and politics that the city had to offer. She looked forward to a new and bright
future and a lifetime of gay parties, balls, and other society functions as the wife of a politician. This was a complete and total transformation for someone who had been brought up as a simple Quaker farm girl from the country. Dolley became an accomplished and sought after hostess, which Côté sees as her training ground prior to becoming the First Lady of the nation.
The next part of chapter six highlights the formative years of James Madison, Jr. Then Côté goes back to Dolley' s past and her prior marriage, then present time and the Madison's move to the Montpellier Plantation and then back to the past. It is quite distracting to follow all the jumping back and fourth. Côté gives a very thorough discussion of every female that Dolley meets and where they fit into the world picture from a historical perspective. Côté also describes the events going on in the 1790s with the "revolutionary feminist Mary Wollstonecraft."
Côté focuses on the many accomplishments of James Madison, Jr. in his lifetime. Côté points out the many important friends of James Madison's such as Thomas Jefferson, William Bradford, Aaron Burr, Hugh Henry Brackenridge, Philip Freneau, and Samuel Stanhope Smith. Dolley would become extremely close to Thomas Jefferson and was already very close to Aaron Burr. They spend a great deal of time expanding their home at Montpellier. Dolley learns how to become a "plantation mistress."
There are quite a bit of pages devoted to James Madison's inability to conceive a child with Dolley. Once Thomas Jefferson is confirmed as the new President he convinces James
Madison, Jr. to go back into politics by becoming his Secretary of State. The Madison's moved to Washington and stayed for eight years through Jefferson's presidency. Jefferson was a widow and he required Dolley to serve as his official Hostess for his entire presidency. Dolley honed her social skills, was quite the fashion maven, and truly understood more then most women married to politicians did about politics. Dolley was in the spotlight of the nation and received praise both good and bad for the way she dressed, her hairstyle, her manners, etc..
It was quite surprising that Dolley became involved in politics because Jefferson did not feel that women should be at all involved. Côté explains all the different social functions that Dolley was required to attend on Jefferson's behalf and Côté describes what a sloppy dresser Jefferson was. Dolley in helping Jefferson "had become the most important woman in
Washington society." After four years as the official hostess of President Jefferson, Dolley considered herself to be a veteran at this point and never realized how cruel the public
could be to her.
The next four years Dolley spent dealing with her recurring eye problem of conjunctivitis, her and her husbands attacks of "billius fever," her husband's "chronic bouts of weakness, and her ulcerated knee." Through all this she still managed to find time to secure a good school for her son and maintain an avid interest in politics. She suffered greatly when her
dear friend Aaron Burr was charged with treason and put in prison on the request of President Jefferson. Burr was acquitted and fled to Europe and left his daughter Theodosia behind. Dolley lost first her two nieces, then her sister Lucy Jackson in 1806, then in 1807 her mother, and finally her sister Mary in 1808 and still managed to be the perfect hostess.
To top it off she suffered inflammatory rheumatism in the summer of 1808. Once it became clear that James Madison. Jr. was the Republican choice for the next president, "Madison's Federalists opponents circulated lewd rumors of a graphically scandalous nature" about Dolley. They said, "she was Jefferson's lover, her husband was impotent, Dolley was
oversexed," and that her husband required her and sister to provide "Jefferson with sexual favors, fellow Republicans, and foreign diplomats in return for votes and support." John Randolph from Virginia who opposed Madison helped to fuel the spread of these rumors. The South Carolina Governor Charles Pickney said, "I was beaten by Mr. and Mrs. Madison" in the election.
On March 4, 1809 Dolley's husband James Madison, Jr. was inaugurated as the fourth president of the united States. During the next four years Dolley became even more of a fashion
icon with her "elaborate turbans," pearl jewelry, and expensive French clothes. Dolley Madison is credited with starting the inaugural ball after the presidential inauguration. Dolley was
considered the consummate hostess, she had more common sense then many women of her time, and was thought to be the "perfect person to lead Washington society." Dolley was called the
"Presidentress" because there was not a set title defined for the wife of a president. Dolley had a keen sense of fashion and took great pride in decorating the President's House, which she thought would be how she would be remembered in history. Her success at hosting great presidential receptions earned her the title of "queen of Washington society."
Dolley is often remembered today as being the perfect hostess and lady of style during her time as the "Presidentress." Côté feels that Dolley should be remembered as a heroine for the country for saving important papers from the President's House and for saving the portrait of George Washington. Dolley was described in stories at the time as having "strength and honor
under fire." Côté found reports that described her as "the heroine of the War of 1812." Côté postures that if women had been allowed to vote that Dolley might have been elected the next president. In Côté's opinion "with strength and honor, they faithfully discharged their duties to the highest offices they held."
Dolley thought that once they left the President's House in March 1817 she would live out the reminder of her days happy at the Montpellier Plantation. James Madison, Jr. was fine until the early 1830s when his health started to fail. Madison's goal was to edit his papers and have them published, he died June 28, 1836 before he could accomplish this and left this task Dolley to finish. Dolley had to move to Washington in 1845 and stayed there till she died.
By February 7, 1849 Dolley Madison's life had come full-circle when she was invited to be the guest of honor at an event in the presidential mansion by President James K. Polk when she was eighty-years old. Dolley was still seen as an "important leader in the capital's social circles." Dolley viewed publishing her husband's papers as her main goal from the time he died till the end of her life in 1849 when she was eighty-one. Dolley had to rely on the kindness of others for the final thirteen years of her life because she was left poor when her husband died. Dolley had been unaware that her husband had been covering her son John Payne Todd's debts for years.
This book appears to be extremely well researched and Côté uses letters all throughout the book to put into perspective Dolley's own words. There is a great set of illustrations and a detailed chronology explaining the events of Dolley Madison's life. Côté included a two page family tree on the Payne family and the Madison family which was invaluable. It was very distracting and hard to follow when Côté jumped back and fourth in time mid chapter.
The reader is required to constantly refer to the chronology and family trees to figure out whom Côté is talking about. That being said, it still held my interest to the end of the book.
Côté shows a bias in interpreting the material on Dolley, which may be due to Côté's own admission of a fascination with Dolley. This book is a real contribution to the subject of
Dolley Madison and helped me to understand Dolley Madison more as a person and a female.
This book would be helpful for students learning about women in American history in upper level college course or for those taking women's studies courses. This is not a just book about Dolley Madison but includes the historiography of other
important events in American history.
Rachel D. Dvorkin
Roosevelt University
Schaumburg, IL
Confused, poorly organized rehash of Dolley Madison's life.......2005-04-26
This was one of the worst biographies I have ever read. I found no new information about Mrs. Madison, and the information that was rehashed was terribly organized for a disruptive reading experience. Over and over again the author jumps from topic to topic, interupting what seems like it could be an interesting arguement or point with some unrelated piece of information that destroys the rhythm of the thought. The information on the complex relationships within the Payne and Madison families is written out rather than expressed in a family tree and is nearly useless. Photographs are sprinkled throughout the book [...] but the captions are all at the end of the book. I found it very disruptive to have to turn to the back to find out what I was looking at and what the significance of the photo might be. Very, very disappointing.
Book Description
In the growth of towns and the revival of commerce, historians have seen the development of a bourgeois and capitalist Europe, but Pierre Riché reminds us that Carolingians saw a world of forest and wasteland, in which scattered castles and villages were
Customer Reviews:
An engaging look at the Carolingian world........2007-10-15
To save money I ordered a used copy of this book. I received an ex-library book that had never been checked out. Apparently the students at a Catholic girls' school were not very interested in "Daily Life In The World of Charlemagne". The book does present some problems. Originally written in French and translated into English, it presumes a certain amount of knowledge about the Carolingian period. I was forced to resort to Google and Wickipedia a lot to put things in context. The single map provided is fascinating, but if you want know where Aquitaine or Austrasia were located you will have to find another reference. Compounding the difficulty is a lack of good source material. The author wryly confronts this problem in his preface, "Carolingian writers, shut up in their work rooms, rarely looked out the window at the life around them."
In spite of these difficulties the author presents a compelling picture of a sparsely populated land, where life was hard, famine frequent, and people often didn't live through the winter. Not only were food and fuel scarce but there was an ever present danger from wolves and other wild animals, not to mention the ever present brigands. In a society where men were often forced to chose between being peasants or being monks it is easy to understand how the stronger and more independent ones could be tempted by a life of banditry.
On the whole I found the book to very readable. By comparison the book I read about the Merovingians was positively opaque. In an over crowded world where we are on the verge of being implanted with RFID chips, and our cell phones can be used to track us, there is something alluring about the Carolingian world in spite of its hardships.
Great Source.......2005-09-20
This is a good reference book as well as a book that you can read straight through. It helps paint a picture of life in the Early Middle ages.
Definite Buy.......2004-06-16
Riche read the European source documents, written in a bewildering array of languages, and synthesized them; all for our reading pleasure. If you are wondering, "Who are those guys?", read it.
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- Daily Life Depicted in the CSM
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Daily Life Depicted in the Cantigas De Santa Maria (Studies in Romance Languages)
John Esten Keller , and
Annette Grant Cash
Manufacturer: University Press of Kentucky
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ASIN: 0813120500 |
Customer Reviews:
Daily Life Depicted in the CSM.......2000-03-02
This volume is worth the price for any Cantigas de Santa Maria enthusiast simply for the color plates (although many of these are repeats of those presented in the 1984 book by Keller and Kincade, Iconography in Medieval Spanish Literature). The index, a logically categorized list of specific aspects of daily life in the miniatures, is very thorough indeed and should be extremely useful for further research in Cantigas iconography. The short discussions about each general category do not delve very deeply, and are again only useful as a springboard for further research. Though the written content is not what I would have exopected, for those of us who do not have regular access to the facsimiles, this book is a major blessing.
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Daily Life of the Jews in the Middle Ages (The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series)
Norman Roth
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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Book Description
Though certainly not untouched by tragedy, the historical period of the middle ages was a dynamic and prosperous time for Jewish civilization; for despite the mass expulsions and periodic attacks that the Jews of the time suffered, they also managed prolonged periods of at least civil relations with the Christian and Muslim cultures that surrounded them, periods in which the Jewish culture at large produced great poetry and important philosophical and theological works, and made inspired contributions to mathematics and the sciences. Accessible to the general reader but enlightening also to the scholar, Norman Roth's account of the diverse and diffuse culture of Jewish daily life in the medieval world offers a direct look on this profoundly historical people, who through their unique relationship with the cultures that surrounded them touched obliquely on so much else in the world of the middle ages-as well as on that of the present day. For ease of use by students, the work is organized into chapters covering all aspects of daily life: education, marriage and family life, the Jewish community at large, religious customs and observances, work, medicine, literature and the arts, the dangers of being Jewish, and the relationship between Jews and Gentiles. It includes a historical timeline of the critical events in the Jewish experience of the middle ages, a glossary of terms, and a bibliography for further reading. Throughout the work Roth shows the circumstances surrounding and at times invading Jewish life at the time, and paints a picture that is at once intimate and also comprehensive. This work will provide school and public librarians with a resource on Jewish culture that is unique, highly informative, historically accurate, and compelling to a high degree.
Book Description
Although life in the Middle Ages was not as comfortable and safe as it is for most people in industrialized countries today, the term "Dark Ages" is highly misleading. The era was not so primitive and crude as depictions in film and literature would suggest. Even during the worst years of the centuries immediately following the fall of Rome, the legacy of that civilization survived. This book covers diet, cooking, housing, building, clothing, hygiene, games and other pastimes, fighting and healing in medieval times. The reader will find numerous misperceptions corrected. The book also includes a comprehensive bibliography and a listing of collections of medieval art and artifacts and related sites across the United States and Canada so that readers in North America can see for themselves some of the matters discussed in the book
Customer Reviews:
Very Detailed.......2006-04-29
Newman really gets down to the "nuts and bolts" of medieval life. For most topics, he is extensively detailed. (For a few topics, he touches them so lightly I don't know why he even mentioned them.) His sections on food, clothing and construction techniques are the best I have seen so far in any book on the subject. Overall, if you want to know the "how and what" of medieval life this is a great reference book. I only gave it four stars because while Newman had great information, he was skimpy on how he knows it other than a few pieces of artwork and some very rough sketches. More artwork examples, better diagrams, and some actual photographs would have helped.
Excellent book!.......2004-09-11
I agree completely with the praise other reviewers have heaped upon this book. I have a large number of books on the Middle Ages and this is one of the best, if not the best. There is detailed information on a large number of topics, which are easily located, and well written. This book is a winner.
Simply superb!.......2004-06-22
Newman's book is divided into seven sections -- Eating and Cooking, Building and Housing, Clothing and Dressing, Cleaning, Relaxing and Playing, Fighting, and Healing. Each chapter is further broken down into convenient and well-organized sub-sections that combine to paint a thoroughly detailed portrait of life at all levels of society throughout Europe. Newman points out how each of his seven areas differed from country to country and in different centuries. The writing style is simple, yet vivid and entirely engaging, bringing the middle ages to life in an easy-to-understand yet detailed way. For example, in the chapter on building and housing Newman discusses what materials were used (and where and why), how they were worked, and what tools were used for each; types of buildings and construction techniques; use of lighting, furniture, decorative elements, etc. The section on food includes what food and drinks people consumed, how food was grown, gathered, stored and served, and differences in class and geographical areas. Almost two pages are devoted to grains alone. Newman explains each element clearly, using photos to illustrate many of the concepts. He dispels common myths about the period and writes convincingly that life was much more advanced and varied than is commonly believed. This is not an academic book (no footnotes or specific source material, although there is a rich bibliography for each chapter generally), but rather a book for the casual researcher, writer or lay person who really wants to understand the middle ages. It is extremely well-written (if poorly proofed), and the only real criticism I can make of the book is the quality of the binding, which makes it hard to read the left-hand pages in the early chapters.
I have been heavily researching the middle ages for a book I am writing and have read numerous books on the subject. This one is by far the most informative and enjoyable.
A Fascinating Read.......2001-06-29
This author has accomplished quite a feat by taking what could be extraordinarily dry material and masterfully crafting a very interesting book. Rarely do you find a scholarly work of this caliber that you can read simply for pleasure. Mr. Newman debunks all of the supposed truisms about the Middle Ages to put the era in its proper perspective in history. This is a marvelous, considered, detailed accounting of what life was really like in those times, and it was not nearly so dreary as you have been told. This thought-provoking book is a must-read. You won't want to put it down.
very nice.......2000-07-13
"Daily Life in the Middle Ages" provides and excellent look at life, food, cleanliness, warfare and other aspects of the period. It is at the same time very accessible to the lay-reader such as me. After reading about the development of armor, the reader will look at "Braveheart" a little differently. The style is informative, but neither dusty nor without humor. Higly recommend.
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Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Jerusalem (Cities Through Time)
Diane Slavik
Manufacturer: Runestone Press
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ASIN: 0822532182 |
Book Description
Daily Life in Medieval Times is a fully-illustrated edition of the classic and popular books of history and anthropology by Frances and Joseph Gies - Life in a Medieval Castle, Life in a Medieval City and Life in a Medieval Village.
This book takes readers into the fascinating world of medieval life through historic pictures, period illustrations and detailed text that describes everything from castle-storming techniques to villagers' hair styles.
Three real medieval places - a castle in Chepstow on the Welsh border, the city of Troyes in the country of Champagne and the village of Elton in the English East Midlands - are the jumping - off point for this thorough exploration of 13th and 14th century life in Europe.
The authors use recent archeloogical discoveries and historic and contemporary documents in conjunction with diagrams and dramatic photographs to give readers a full understanding of what it was truly like to live 700 years ago.
Customer Reviews:
A dry overview nicely illustrated.......2005-07-20
This book presents the three works of Frances & Joseph Gies in one volume and has an added bonus of being beautifully illustrated. The book that I obtained is a reprint of the original work, published by Barnes & Nobel Books for the mass market and is available at a fraction of the cost of the original publishing.
This book combines three works on the life and culture of the time period usually referred to as "medieval". I reference dates in the volume that cover the time post 1000 CE, the book itself claims 12th and 13th centuries CE. Of the material provided in this volume, the references are also only to England for the most part, and those areas that were under English control. It would be safe to say that this book does cover the medieval period of life in England and English held lands.
The books included in this volume are "Life in a Medieval Castle", "Life in a Medieval Village" and "Life in a Medieval City".
Before going any further, I wanted to check the bibliography. The material referenced spans many years, offering some older material for reference, but also fairly recent material. Reading through the bibliography, there are some well known historians, some interesting medieval references and it appears that the material stops shortly before the publication dates of the original books, which is late 80s early 90s. However, the references are good, overall, and add to the material offered in the book. I like the inclusion of material from public works, such as the coroner's rolls, or land grants, and estate books from that time period. It does give some interesting references.
The book itself reads as a textbook. Sorry, but that's the way it comes across. While the jacket of the book touts the authors "keep the romance", to me it read more like a text book. There are quotes from well known poetry and works of the time, and that does add interest. However, much to the detriment of the authors, it can be a bit tedious on the reader who picked this book up for the enjoyment aspect of reading.
The historical events covered are historical in nature. This can be pretty dry, name, date, event type of thing. Again, text book in format. From the cultural aspects covered, there are references to other material from those times, and archeological references which the author uses to support his findings, again, reading more of a text book than weaving a story.
What is nice is the quoted material. Some of this material is not available to the general public, and it is nice to see some of the references, which sometimes are personal accounts of an event, be it historical or personal. Some of it can be boring. But all of it relates to the cultural aspects of medieval life, which is the constant focus of the authors.
The illustrations are stunning. Where the text can be dry, the illustrations wet the appetite for more insight into this time in history. Actually, the illustrations compliment the material, providing a good reason to pick up this book, if for nothing else. Illuminated manuscripts, tapestries, paintings, stained glass and more. All are of the time period showing everything to do with everyday life or some major historical event. Whether a figment of the artists' imagination or an actual depiction of an everyday event, the illustrations are probably more interesting renderings of the culture of the time.
That is not to say that this book does not have any worth. Actually, because of it's well researched material and the authors' approach to this material as text book, it does offer a good source of information for someone who is researching a topic related to medieval life and wants to add some background and cultural aspects to their work. The text is written so that school children in the grades 6 to 12 can understand it, and it is laid out so that it can be referenced either by the table of contents or the very deep index in the back of the book. The material is historically accurate and would provide a good addition to a term paper. There is also a very good glossary in the back of the book which will help you to understand just what some words, antiquated or dated in nature, actually mean. Again, not too long, but it helps.
However, if you were doing a term paper on medieval life alone, I would suggest that you look through the bibliography for other books to augment the material in this book. While it does provide a good overview, none of the topics are gone into in much more than casual depth.
This book is intended as an overview of the material covered. I can see why the publisher would have bound all three books into one, in order to present a good overview for the student, or as a reference. The addition of illustrations was probably a necessity, in order to keep the readers interest in what is a very dry subject matter to begin with, treated as text book reference material.
What it is valuable for is a reference for the researcher, a general overview to augment a students reading, and the illustrations are worth it for a coffee table book in the home of someone like me who has an interest in this sort of material. It has its value, however dry, but it is a beautiful book to leaf through and admire the pictures. And for the price, the re-release is a good value.
Again, I would recommend it for someone focusing on doing a term paper about the time period, and looking for pictures to scan into their report, and some cultural background to beef up the term paper. Not for the casual reader. medievalcrusadesbabe
General overview, not for the serious researcher.......2005-01-21
The book is a broad overview which aims for the mass market audience. While it's okay for someone who wants a general picture of some facets of medieval life, it does not have the kind of detail or specificity necessary for serious research.
-It has some very nice pictures which is always a plus but although there may be attributions for them, the Photography Credits are arranged in such a way as to make tracking the sources down a little cumbersome.
-There are lists of Explanatory Notes and Bibliographical Notes at the end of the book referenced to each chapter and a General Bibliography. The majority of the references are secondary sources but there is a smattering of primary source document citations.
-Chapters are quite short. They give a brief taste of a wide range of topics--perhaps enough to write a Middle School essay but certainly not enough for anyone who is seriously interested in the period.
All in all, it's an okay book to read through if you have a beginning interest in aspects of medieval life in England or France. It can give you ideas for what to investigate further; there is a WIDE range of topics covered but not enough information to give you a solid understanding on any of them. The book was meant to be a scholarly work. The target audience is Joe Average and not the historian so if you're the man on the street who just wants some factoids and a bit of flavor, the book is okay. If you're into medieval history and want something meaty, look elsewhere.
**The book has been reprinted by Barnes and Noble and is available BRAND NEW for $14.98.
This is a fascinatingly outsanding book...if you are a H...........2002-09-18
This is a fascinatingly outsanding book...if you are a History teacher or a philosopher. I am a parent of a 9th grader in the High School, and my son was required to read this book by the end of the summer. He disliked it very much, because it was basically a textbook - with the different chapters that were all quite monotonous. I know this because I read the book myself, and I found it more interesting than my son found it, most certainly, but it wasn't a good book in the least bit. The only way I would find it interesting would be if I were researching the Medieval times. Enjoy!
A must-have........2002-09-18
This is a compilation of several of the Gies' books: "Life in a Medieval Castle", "Life in a Medieval Village", and "Life in a Medieval City". But it's so much more, making it a must-have even for people who own the other books. I own all of them, and I still was absolutely delighted with this book.
Why? Because of the pictures! The softcover books don't have many pictures, if any at all, but this is LOADED with them, and quite a few are in color. It's absolutely outstanding, the way it is illustrated. Every single page just about is loaded with color photos of paintings, books, castles, portraits, you name it. They are all of excellent quality, though I'd have liked bigger ones, being the greedy person I am.
Extras seem to include a genealogy of the Counts of Champagne and a geographic guide to castles, listing extant ones country-by-country through Europe. There are explanatory notes at the end, a large bibliography, and photography credits. There is also a glossary and an index that looks adequate. This is a huge book, heavy and hard-covered, almost a coffee table book except for its vast wealth of information.
I'd say if you are interested in the Middle Ages, this would make a grand addition to your library -- and if you know someone who likes medieval history, this would make them a fantastic Christmas present.
A great book on Medieval Times!.......2001-12-04
I highly recommend this book. It is really good and full of historical information on the Medeival times. The subjects are divided by chapters. It is well written.
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Daily Life - Medieval Knights (Daily Life)
Adam Woog
Manufacturer: KidHaven Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Board book
General
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Medieval
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
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General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
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General
| Europe
| History
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Heraldry
| Genealogy
| Reference
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ASIN: 0737709928 |
Book Description
Knights were the most important soldiers of the Medieval era. They were powerful killing machines and capable of great violence, but they also came to represent the chivalrous ideals of honor, nobility, and romantic love. Hundreds of years after the last knights disappeared, stories about them continue to thrill us.
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Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Cairo (Cities Through Time)
Joan D. Barghusen
Manufacturer: Runestone Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
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Africa
| Explore the World
| People & Places
| Children's Books
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Middle East
| Explore the World
| People & Places
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Customs, Traditions, Anthropology
| Social Science
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General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
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Egypt
| Ancient
| History
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General
| Egypt
| Africa
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ASIN: 0822532212 |
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