Publisher: Pegasus Books
Copyright: 2017
ISBN: 9781681773544
The Time Traveler's Guide to Restoration Britain is a fascinating look into what life was like in the mid to late 17th century in Britain (in particular 1660 to 1700). This was a time that has been portrayed in a number of movies, and books, but there were many details that the film makers got wrong. Whether this was due to lack of research, or they just didn't think anybody would notice is questionable, but Mr. Mortimer's book should hopefully eliminate any future errors, assuming that the movie types bother to read it.
This book is Mr. Mortimer's 8th dealing with history, which is where his expertise is as he is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and has been described by the London Times as "the most remarkable medieval history of out time." He has two other books in the Time-traveller's series one on Medieval England, and another of Elizabethan England, both of which are fascinating as well.
"Restoration Britain" delves deeply into a wide range of topics such as living in London, as well as outside it ad the differences can be quite startling to say the least. He also discusses the people themselves, their character, the basic essentials of life, the colette they wore, travelling, where it is possible to stay when travelling, what you as a traveller could eat, drink and smoke, the health and hygiene of the peoples, the law, and entertainment.
This book as well as the two others in the series would be priceless resources for any author writing historical fiction set in Britain in any one of the three eras. I hope Mr. Mortimer will consider expanding this series with other books as well.
Highly recommended.
