Book Review: Growing Up in Medieval London
(By Cynfyn ap Rhywallon as appeared in the September 1995 Bolt)

Growing Up in Medieval London, by Barbara Hanawalt

I first ordered this to help Alessandra round out her English persona. Being rather low on reading material at the time I picked it up first and was hooked. Rather than being a dry study of statistics and the general history of the time and area "Growing Up in Medieval London" examines in a very human way the living situations of city denizens of the time. This book is well researched using primary sources in the form of London's actual city and court records of the time, but reads easily through liberal use of examples and storytelling.

For fleshing out a period English persona, this book is excellent, but I would also like to recommend it for a person who just wants a feeling of the mood of the period.

Cynfyn

 Page last updated 12/15/99