Ian Mortimer

You might run for fitness. You might run for speed. But ultimately, running is about much more than the physical act itself. It is about the challenges we face in life, and how we measure up to them. It is about companionship, endurance, ambition, hope, conviction, determination, self-respect and inspiration. It is about how we choose to live our lives, and what it means to share our values with other people.In this year-long memoir, which might be described as a historians take on Haruki Murakamis What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, the celebrated historian Ian Mortimer considers the meaning of running as he approaches his fiftieth birthday. From injuries and frustrated ambitions to exhilaration and empathy, it is a personal and yet universal account of what running means to people, and how it helps everyone focus on what really matters.

The essential introduction to the Middle Ages by the bestselling author of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval EnglandWe tend to think of the Middle Ages as a dark, backward and unchanging time characterised by violence, ignorance and superstition. By contrast we believe progress arose from science and technological innovation, and that inventions of recent centuries created the modern world.We couldn't be more wrong. As Ian Mortimer shows in this fascinating book, people's horizons - their knowledge, experience and understanding of the world - expanded dramatically. Life was utterly transformed between 1000 and 1600, marking the transition from a warrior-led society to that of Shakespeare.

From the bestselling author of the Time Travellers Guides In these sparkling A to Zs, time-travelling historian Ian Mortimer visits four classic periods of English history: the fourteenth century, the Elizabethan age, the Restoration and the Regency. As he ranges from the Great Plague to the Great Freeze, from Armada to Austen, and from tobacco to toenails, he shines a light into corners of history we never knew were so fascinating -- or so revealing of the whole. How did the button change life in the Middle Ages? If you found yourself at a smart Elizabethan party, should you kiss your hostess on the lips? Why were pistols safer than swords in a duel? And how come Regency Londoners quaffed so much port? This is Mortimer at his accessible and witty best. As ever, his aim is not only to bring the past to life but also to illuminate our own times.

Una guía original, entretenida y esclarecedora de un mundo completamente diferente: Inglaterra en la Edad Media. Una máquina del tiempo te acaba de transportar al siglo xiv. ¿Qué ves? ¿Cómo te vistes? ¿Como te ganas la vida y cuanto te pagan? ¿Que tipo de comida te ofrecera un campesino, un monje o un señor? Y lo que es mas importante, ¿donde te alojaras? La Guia para viajar en el tiempo a la Inglaterra medieval no es la tipica mirada a un periodo historico. Mortimer da un giro radical a nuestra concepcion de la historia: no es solo algo que se estudia, tambien es algo que se vive, ya sea la vida de un campesino o de un señor. A traves de las cronicas diarias, las cartas, los relatos domesticos y los poemas de la epoca, Mortimer nos transporta al pasado y nos ofrece respuestas a preguntas que los historiadores tradicionales suelen ignorar. Aprenderemos como saludar a la gente en la calle, que usar como papel higienico, por que un medico podria querer probar nuestra sangre y como saber si estamos enfermando de lepra. Un libro de historia social sorprendente y revolucionario, informativo y entretenido, acerca de una epoca de violencia, exuberancia y miedo.

In these sparkling A to Zs, time-travelling historian Ian Mortimer visits four classic periods of English history: the fourteenth century, the Elizabethan age, the Restoration and the Regency.As he ranges from the Great Plague to the Great Freeze, from Armada to Austen, and from tobacco to toenails, he shines a light into corners of history we never knew were so fascinating or so revealing of the whole.How did the button change life in the Middle Ages? If you found yourself at a smart Elizabethan party, should you kiss your hostess on the lips? Why were pistols safer than swords in a duel? And how come Regency Londoners drank so much port?This is Mortimer at his accessible and witty best. As ever, his aim is not only to bring the past to life but also to illuminate our own times.

The essential introduction to the Middle Ages by the bestselling author of The Time Traveller s Guide to Medieval EnglandWe tend to think of the Middle Ages as a dark backward and unchanging time characterised by violence ignorance and superstition By contrast we believe progress arose from science and technological innovation and that inventions of recent centuries created the modern world We couldn t be more wrong As Ian Mortimer shows in this fascinating book people s horizons their knowledge experience and understanding of the world expanded dramatically Life was utterly transformed between 1000 and 1600 marking the transition from a warrior led society to that of Shakespeare Just as The Time Traveller s Guide to Medieval England revealed what it was like to live in the fourteenth century Medieval Horizons provides the perfect primer to the era as a whole It outlines the enormous cultural changes that took place from literacy to living standards inequality and even the developing sense of self thereby correcting misconceptions and presenting the period as a revolutionary age of fundamental importance in the development of the Western world Praise for Ian Mortimer The endlessly inventive Ian Mortimer is the most remarkable medieval historian

Beautifully written and superbly executed TimesThis clever and moving Faustian tale is packed with fascinating historical detailExpressA joyous romp around Englands dark past Suzie Feay, GuardianFrom the author of the bestselling The Time Travellers Guide to Restoration Britain, this is a stunningly high-concept historical novel that is both as daring as it is gripping, and perfect for fans of Conn Iggulden, SJ Parris and Kate Mosse.December 1348. With the country in the grip of the Black Death, brothers John and William fear that they will shortly die and go to Hell. But as the end draws near, they are given an unexpected choice: either to go home and spend their last six days in their familiar world, or to search for salvation across the forthcoming centuries living each one of their remaining days ninety-nine years after the last. John and William choose the future and find themselves in 1447, ignorant of almost everything going on around them. The year 1546 brings no more comfort, and 1645 challenges them still further. It is not just that technology is changing: things they have taken for granted all their lives prove to be short-lived. As they find themselves in stranger and stranger times, the reader travels with them, seeing the world through their eyes as it shifts through disease, progress, enlightenment and war. But their time is running out can they do something to redeem themselves before the six days are up?What readers are saying: Wow, what a book! I absolutely adored this. This was ambitious but done to perfection Sara Marsden The Outcasts of Time is a tour de force, rich in spellbinding detail. Haunting and atmospheric, there is warmth and humour alongside fear and torment; all human life is here. As perfect a novel as any Ive ever read Ophelias ReadsA fascinating trip through seven centuries of history ... The author has done well to traverse such a sweep of time ... its a great read and Id recommend itNetgalley reviewer, 4 stars

This book tells the story of Mearsdon, the house where Ian Mortimer lives in Moretonhampstead, on the edge of Dartmoor. We very rarely have a continuous account of a particular place over a long stretch of history, but Mortimer has a documentary record of all the owners who lived there since the 1260s although the origins of the building probably date back to the eleventh century.Blending the broadest national history and the most intimate local events with a description of changing daily life from the Norman Conquest to the present day, Mortimer acquaints us with the people who passed through the house from its first known owner, John the Palmer, to the folklore collector Charlie Laycock, who turned the house into a museum in the early twentieth century, to Mortimers family living there today. And along the way he shows how national events from the Black Death to the Prayerbook Rebellion, from the Civil Wars to the two world wars affected a rural community in deepest Devon over a time span of 900 years.The result is fascinating social history like no other. Bringing to it the brilliant imagination and storytelling gifts that made his Time Travellers Guides such a huge success, Mortimer introduces us to lords and merchants, ale brewers and peasants, clergymen and murderers, to create a continuously evolving story. Seeing through its windows, we not only glimpse at the people who lived in the house over the ages; we also see through their eyes as they look out at the changing world around them.

A fresh and funny book that wears its learning lightlyIndependentDiscover the era of William Shakespeare and Elizabeth I through the sharp, informative and hilarious eyes of Ian Mortimer. We think of Queen Elizabeth Is reign (1558-1603) as a golden age. But what was it actually like to live in Elizabethan England? If you could travel to the past and walk the streets of London in the 1590s, where would you stay? What would you eat? What would you wear? Would you really have a sense of it being a glorious age? And if so, how would that glory sit alongside the vagrants, diseases, violence, sexism and famine of the time? In this book Ian Mortimer reveals a country in which life expectancy is in the early thirties, people still starve to death and Catholics are persecuted for their faith. Yet it produces some of the finest writing in the English language, some of the most magnificent architecture, and sees Elizabeths subjects settle in America and circumnavigate the globe. Welcome to a country that is, in all its contradictions, the very crucible of the modern world.Vivid trip back to the 16th century...highly entertaining bookGuardian

From the saviour of the realm to the subject of multiple attempted assassinations in the space of six years. King Henry IVs reign was characterised by his fear and paranoia, but above all a continued quest for survival. The son of John the Gaunt, Henry was seen as a confident, well-educated, generous, and spiritually fervent young man. And, in 1399, having ousted the insecure tyrannical Richard II, he was enthusiastically greeted as the new King of England. However, therein lay Henrys weakness. Upon assuming the crown, he found himself surrounded by men who would only support him as long as they could control him. When they failed, they plotted to kill him.Long characterised as a treacherous murderer for slaying Richard II, Henry IVs achievements as king have been played down throughout history. However, in this fascinating examination of his reign, Ian Mortimer revaluates what Henry managed to accomplish against all adversity as king. Provoking a social revolution as well as a political one, he took a poorly ruled nation into a new, Lancastrian dynasty, and, while perhaps not the most glorious king England has ever had, he certainly proves to one of the bravest.[Mortimer] has... a vivid historical imagination which lends colour and excitement to his pages Literary Review

We are an astonishing species. Over the past millennium of plagues and exploration, revolution and scientific discovery, womans rights and technological advances, human society has changed beyond recognition.Sweeping through the last thousand years of human development, Human Race is a treasure chest of the lunar leaps and lightbulb moments that, for better or worse, have sent humanity swerving down a path that no one could ever have predicted.Butwhich of the last ten centuries saw the greatest changes in human history?Historys greatest tour guide, Ian Mortimer, knows what answer he would give. But whats yours?

The essential introduction to the Middle Ages by the bestselling author of The Time Travellers Guide to Medieval EnglandWe tend to think of the Middle Ages as a dark, backward and unchanging time characterised by violence, ignorance and superstition. By contrast we believe progress arose from science and technological innovation, and that inventions of recent centuries created the modern world.We couldnt be more wrong. As Ian Mortimer shows in this fascinating book, peoples horizons - their knowledge, experience and understanding of the world - expanded dramatically. Life was utterly transformed between 1000 and 1600, marking the transition from a warrior-led society to that of Shakespeare.Just as The Time Travellers Guide to Medieval England revealed what it was like to live in the fourteenth century, Medieval Horizons provides the perfect primer to the era as a whole. It outlines the enormous cultural changes that took place - from literacy to living standards, inequality and even the developing sense of self - thereby correcting misconceptions and presenting the period as a revolutionary age of fundamental importance in the development of the Western world.Praise for Ian Mortimer:The endlessly inventive Ian Mortimer is the most remarkable medieval historian of our time - The Times

The first biography of the rebel baron who deposed and murdered Edward II.One night in August 1323 a captive rebel baron, Sir Roger Mortimer, drugged his guards and escaped from the Tower of London. With the kings men-at-arms in pursuit he fled to the south coast, and sailed to France. There he was joined by Isabella, the Queen of England, who threw herself into his arms. A year later, as lovers, they returned with an invading army: King Edward IIs forces crumbled before them, and Mortimer took power. He removed Edward II in the first deposition of a monarch in British history. Then the ex-king was apparently murdered, some said with a red-hot poker, in Berkeley Castle. Brutal, intelligent, passionate, profligate, imaginative and violent: Sir Roger Mortimer was an extraordinary character. It is not surprising that the queen lost her heart to him. Nor is it surprising that his contemporaries were terrified of him. But until now no one has appreciated the full evil genius of the man. This first biography reveals not only the mans career as a feudal lord, a governor of Ireland, a rebel leader and a dictator of England but also the truth of what happened that night in Berkeley Castle.Mortimers book roars, races and sings... with a sense of passion and drama and an unrelenting pace Daily Telegraph

The past is a foreign country: this is your guidebook. Imagine you could get into a time machine and travel back to the fourteenth century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? Should you go to a castle or a monastic guesthouse? And what are you going to eat? What sort of food are you going to be offered by a peasant or a monk or a lord?This is the most astonishing social history book you are ever likely to read: revolutionary in its concept, informative and entertaining in its detail, and startling for its portrayal of humanity in an age of violence, exuberance and fear.BRAIN SHOTS: the byte-sized guide to acompletely different world: England in the Middle Ages

From the bestselling author of The Time Travellers Guide to Medieval England, comes the story of King Edward III, who - like Elizabeth and Victoria after him - embodied the values of his age, forged a nation out of war and re-made England.He ordered his uncle to be beheaded; he usurped his fathers throne; he started a war which lasted for more than a hundred years, and taxed his people more than any other previous king.Nineteenth century historians saw in Edward the opportunity to decry a warmonger, and painted him as a self-seeking, rapacious, tax-gathering conqueror. Yet, in this first full study of the Kings character and life, Dr Ian Mortimer unveils that behind the strong warrior king was a compassionate, conscientious and often merciful man - resolute yet devoted to his wife, friends and family, and the father of both the English nation and the English people.A fascinating portrait. At times, the reader seems almost able to reach across time and touch this man - The Economist

Henry V is regarded as the great English hero. Lionised in his own day for his victory at Agincourt, his piety and his rigorous application of justice, he was elevated by Shakespeare into a champion of English nationalism for all future generations. But what was he really like? Does he deserve to be thought of as the greatest man who ever ruled England?In Ian Mortimers groundbreaking book, he portrays Henry in the pivotal year of his reign. Recording the dramatic events of 1415, he offers the fullest, most precise and least romanticised view we have of Henry and what he did. The result is not only a fascinating reappraisal of Henry; it brings to the fore many unpalatable truths which biographers and military historians have largely ignored. At the centre of the book is the campaign which culminated in the battle of Agincourt: a slaughter ground designed not to advance Englands interests directly but to demonstrate Gods approval of Henrys royal authority on both sides of the Channel.

Travel back through time this Christmas on a tour of a completely different world: England in the Middle Ages.Imagine you could travel back to the fourteenth century. What would you see, and hear, and smell? Where would you stay? What are you going to eat? And how are you going to test to see if you are going down with the plague?In The Time Travellers Guide Ian Mortimers radical new approach turns our entire understanding of history upside down. History is not just something to be studied; it is also something to be lived, whether thats the life of a peasant or a lord. The result is perhaps the most astonishing history book you are ever likely to read; as revolutionary as it is informative, as entertaining as it is startling.Ian Mortimer is the most remarkable medieval historian of our timeThe TimesAfter The Canterbury Tales this has to be the most entertaining book ever written about the middle agesGuardian

The past is a foreign country: this is your guidebook.If you could travel back in time, the period from 1660 to 1700 would make one of the most exciting destinations in history. It is the age of Samuel Pepys and the Great Fire of London; bawdy comedy and the libertine court of Charles II; Christopher Wren in architecture, Henry Purcell in music and Isaac Newton in science - the civil wars are over and a magnificent new era has begun.But what would it really be like to live in Restoration Britain? Where would you stay and what would you eat? What would you wear and where would you do your shopping? The third volume in the series of Ian Mortimers bestselling Time Travellers Guides answers the crucial questions that a prospective traveller to seventeenth-century Britain would ask.Peoples lives are changing rapidly - from a world of superstition and religious explanation to rationalism and scientific calculation. In many respects the period sees the tipping point between the old world and the new as fear and uncertainty, hardship and eating with your fingers give way to curiosity and professionalism, fine wines and knives and forks. Travelling to Restoration Britain encourages us to reflect on the customs and practices of daily life - and this unique guide not only teaches us about the seventeenth century but makes us look with fresh eyes at the modern world.Ian Mortimer is a historical truffle hound... His book is a delightful read.Sunday Times

Excellent... Mortimers erudition is formidableThe TimesA time of exuberance, thrills, frills and unchecked bad behaviour...Ian Mortimer turns to what is arguably the most-loved period in British history - the Regency, or Georgian England.This is the age of Jane Austen and the Romantic poets; the paintings of John Constable and the gardens of Humphry Repton; Britains military triumphs at Trafalgar and Waterloo. It was perhaps the last age of true freedom before the arrival of the stifling world of Victorian morality.And like all periods in history, it was an age of many contradictions - where Beethovens thundering Fifth Symphony could premier in the same year that saw Jane Austen craft the delicate sensitivities of Persuasion.This is history at its most exciting, physical, visceral - the past not as something to be studied but as lived experience. This is Ian Mortimer at the height of his time-travelling prowess.Ian Mortimer has made this kind of imaginative time travel his specialityDaily Mail