In Living in Medieval England, Warner has produced a book that is both entertaining and informative at once. Using household accounts, an underappreciated and often ignored Medieval source, as her basis, the author has written a vivid account of life in early 14th century England, from across the social spectrum.. Some details are interesting, some are widely known, such as the political events of his reign, and others are suprising, such as the story of Anneis May, a seamtress, who recieved the same pay as her husband for her work. From the King, no less. Or that the average age of marriage for common people in many areas of the country was not that far removed from today.

Edward II's proclivities did not just involve his love of unusual activities (for a Medieval King) such as swimming, but seemed to go as far as him taking an active interest in the lives and activities of ordinary people. He would get down and dirty, digging ditches along with them.

The last and turbulent year of the reign of a controversial Medieval King comes alive through the lives, deaths, occupations and daily struggles of those around him. This book comes highly recommended from a historian herself, and is a great addition to the shelves of anyone interested in social history.

Thanks to Pen and Sword for approving my request for this title. This review is entirely my own opinion and was in no way influenced.

A great idea for ebook that really keeps you interested until the end.A fascinating look at the regular people in medieval England

In Living in Medieval England, Kathryn Warner provides an insightful and well-researched look into the very different world of medieval England. in 1326. She carefully chronicles the changes to live brought about by the invasion of Isabella of France and her quest to overthrow her husband, King Edward II.

If you know anything about medieval history, and especially the Plantagenets, then you know 1326 was kind of a big deal. Queen Isabella (of France, commonly referred to as the She-Wolf of France by guys who don't like powerful women) was done with King Edward II and invaded England with an army to prove it. Her goal was to topple the man rumored to hold her husband's affections, Hugh Despenser the Younger and while she was successful, she also brought Edward down in the process. Personally, I have always felt bad for Edward II. He wasn't really cut out to be king, and was happy in the company of commoners, doing all the things that made the nobility look twice such as thatching roofs, digging ditches, building walls, etc. If only he could have abdicated and been allowed to go off and life like a regular person. Considering the fact that Edward III would grow to become one of England's most successful monarchs in history, we can all probably agree that Edward II simply wasn't meant to govern and did not do it well. He rewarded his close friends (rumored lovers, but I don't really give a shit about that part. Unfortunately, the rest of the nobility did) with lands and money and titles, and this made a lot of others very, very angry.

The book, however, does not focus solely on this event, or any other happenings exclusive to the royal family. Instead, we have a month-by-month account of the year with highlights of both the royal family, and the everyday lives of their many subjects as well.

I appreciated what the author did, in bringing to light stories of people we would otherwise never know about. Some of the stories were humorous, others troubling, and a whole range in between. After a while, however, it did begin to feel repetitive. I still think ordering it by month was the way to go, given that all the stories could be grouped easily that way. I just don't know if all the stories were necessary. I also found it to be very interesting to see what was going on in the lives of the people, against the backdrop of the massive upheaval going on in terms of Edward and Isabella's actions.

There is a lot of detail here. So much so, that one almost drowns in the massive amount of detail, and that is why the book remains a three-star for me. I liked it find enough and am glad I had the chance to read it. I just found that the author's strength came to writing about Edward II, and looked forward to those sections far more, though the daily life glimpses were interesting most of the time. I think that might have to do with the writing style, because as I said, I definitely found the passages dedicated to Edward's movements throughout the year to be much more engaging.

Recommended for those who enjoy medieval history.

Goes through the year of what each month may have looked like for those at the time. A number of people introduced and different things like restrictions, spending and so on talked about.

Although the account of ordinary people during this period provides a vivid and very detailed look at medieval life during this year, Kathryn Warner is at her best when she writes about King Edward II. I found the parts about him the most interesting sections of the book. I would love to know more about women running businesses during this period - there are glimpses of this here.



I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

What was it like to live in the year 1326 in England near the court of Edward II? How did your name reflect where you lived or your profession? How much did it cost to buy fish, bread or weapons? How were death duties collected? How did you tell time? And how did Isabella, Edward II"s wife, decide invading England from Paris was her only choice in 1326?

This book will answer all these questions in an engaging and informative style, while also giving actual histories of families who lived through this violent period. It highlights the pivotal role of women in this time, as well as the unusual accessibility of Edward II to his subjects. It gives monthly accounts of births deaths, marriages, business transactions and goods bought, while tempers flare over Hugh Despenser's increasing control over Edward. It chronicles Edward's mismanagement of his personal affairs with Isabella as well as public affairs, that create resentment and engender switching of loyalties among the common folk. Instead of a historical overview, you get an intimate detailing of daily and monthly events such as punishments meted out, religious leaders at war with each other, landowners who either lost or gained lands when a family member died, how food was acquired and how much it cost. It is a fascinating look at an ultimately doomed reign before they knew of their demise, and one which shines a vibrant light on the commonfolk living in 1326.

I thought that this was a meh book. It was very interesting book, but it was not for me, I do appreciate the amount of research that went into the book, and how much detail there is. I also gained a greater appreciation for the English history, and I will dive deeper into the history of England.

This is a fascinating and meticulously researched and detailed account of England in the year 1326. Edward II is on the throne, but is estranged from his wife Isabella who is living in France with their son and his heir.

Edward has always had a very bad press - everyone knows about his unfortunate demise at Berkeley Castle and he made unfortunate choices in his friends, having favourites like Piers Gaveston and Hugh le Despenser, to whom he gave land and titles. This understandably peeved the other barons, who also disliked Edward's affinity with the working classes. Today having a king who rolled up his sleeves and helped ditchers and workmen would be endearing, but I understand it was then considered to be below his station to do that type of work.

The book takes you through the calendar for the year. Some of the detail is a little extreme, especially some of the family relationships, particularly if you don't then meet any of the characters again. It is fascinating how detailed the records were, and to see a king paying quite lowly staff to go home to sort out domestic problems and paying them if they were off sick. In many ways he was way ahead of his time.

A great read, fascinating in its detail and shining a new light on a much-maligned king. After all, history was always written by the victors, so while Edward made mistakes, it is good to see someone paint him as a less two-dimensional figure.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen and Sword for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you were curious about the lives of the not so rich and famous, then you have found the right book! Kathryn Warner goes into great detail with the lives of ordinary citizens of Medieval England, with a little royal drama thrown in for reference.

While the reign of Edward II has been dominated by the She-Wolf, or Queen Isabella and her not so secret affair with Roger Mortimer, there were still the everyday people, just trying to survive during the royal tumbles. From fisherwomen, carpenters, and those who waited on the royal couple, this book will keep you engaged from the start.

I really enjoyed this one, as it was a nice look into what was going on while the royal couple was hashing out their differences (with the use of armies, of course), and the daily goings-on of those who were living, and dying, during the tumultuous year of 1326. While the war drug out much longer, this brief look into this year gives us an idea of what happened, who was getting married, and the different prices for goods, death investigations and more,

A great read for those interested in social (and some royal) history!

I found this book a mix of very interesting and a bit rambling. Most of it is based on records kept by the household of Edward II and so follows Edward and his retinue through the year- up to his battle with his queen and son and eventual abdication in December. The details surrounding how Edward and those around him lived, what work they did, and what things cost, were very interesting and I enjoyed when Warner put things into historical context and explained some of the tradition or backstory surrounding it. Other times there would just be a list of seemingly random things that happened during the month (the book is broken down month by month) that didn’t work as well for me. I would have been more interested in those parts of the book if Warner had used them to help describe the larger life of people at the time in general. Still, an interesting book for history lovers, with some of the minutiae of everyday English life that we find so fascinating today.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I thoroughly enjoyed this book--it was well-researched but accessible and while it covered major events that happened involving royalty, its predominant focus was on information about every day people. I have had quite an interest in English history since I was young and consider myself to have a decent knowledge of the subject, but within the first chapter alone I had taken notes on several interesting things that I had never known--like the fact that Edward II hired a husband and wife to work in his household (unheard of to hire a woman in such a position!) and paid them the same wage! The book is full of these interesting tidbits, but ties them all together nicely to give the reader a true sense of understanding of daily life and occurrences in 1326 England; it never feels like reading a bunch of dry dates and facts. I'll be adding the physical copy to my shelves as soon as it releases.

1326 was a pivotal year in British History; a year in which a weak king and his “evil counselors” were ousted by a far more talented queen in favour of a son who would live to be one of England’s most successful monarchs. Whilst the great and good of the land were adapting to the times the rest of the nation carried on as normal; plying their trades, having extra-marital affairs, dying under bizarre circumstances and murdering their neighbours.

All human life is here courtesy of the wit and exemplary research of Kathryn Warner. Using an account book from Edward II’s court Warner has weaved a wonderfully rich tapestry from the warp and weft of medieval life. We hear the names of those who are often lost to time; the glovers, sadlers, archers, brewsters and damsels. This is a beautifully written book - very easy to follow all the way back to the fourteenth century.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

232 pages

4 stars

It is 1326 in England. The King is Edward II.

This book takes the year month-by-month to tell the stories of not only Edward, but several townspeople, courtiers and politicos.

The tales are very interesting and I found the book to be a delight to read. The everyday lives of these individuals were so different than ours, it was very hard not to be entranced by them. A few of the stories were funny (forgive me for thinking so). And it's all based on fact. These were real people and their stories were very real.

I enjoyed the book. It was well written and easy to follow.

I want to thank NetGalley and Pen & Sword/Pen & Sword History for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review.

A book relating the day to day life of Edward II intertwining with historical events and many details of Edward II 's daily life in 1326. Very informative and interesting details about this complex king who could be generous but also crual.