Goodman's passion for her subject... comes across loud and clear
Yorkshire Post
Must-read!
Daily Mail
Wonderful, informative, startling . . . Goodman's unique selling proposition as a historian is that she walks the walk of her time period, even when that walk involves hard labor in a corset and a hoop skirt
New York Times ... Read more(on 'How to be a Victorian')
If we ever have a female Doctor Who, I shall forward Ruth Goodman's name for consideration, not least because the historian has already done so much time travelling
The Times
Written with such passion . . . will fascinate and inform anyone who is interested in Victorian ways of life
Dr Ian Mortimer, author of 'The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England' on 'How to Be a Victorian' Immersive, engrossing
Laura Miller
Slate
Engagingly written and awash in the practicalities of life in the age, it presents a vivid, fascinating era of British history and reminds us that we're never as far from the past as we like to think
Genevieve Valentine
NPR
Her enthusiasm is exhilarating and contagious; her writing is clear and clean, sharply observant of tactile details and what they reveal about 16th-century life
Boston Globe
Goodman's latest foray into immersive history is a revelation ... It's the next best thing to being there
Sarah Ferguson
New York Times Book Review
Leisure activities like dancing, gambling, and trips to the bear-baiting arena are brought to life by imaginative readings of primary sources... Common wisdom on everything from the healthiest sleeping position (on the right) to how to conceive a male child (by tying a ribbon around the left testicle) rounds out this engaging, erudite guide
New Yorker
Fascinating immersive history
New York Times
Ruth is the queen of living history, long may she reign!
Lucy Worsley A deeply researched and endlessly fascinating account of what it was like to live as a Tudor. The narrative is rich in period detail and based upon a thorough review of the contemporary sources, but what makes it unique is the fact that Goodman has put it all into practice - sleeping, eating, washing and dressing like a Tudor. As a result, How To Be a Tudor is one of very few books which can justifiably claim to bring every aspect of this enduringly popular period dazzlingly to life.
Tracy Borman, author of 'Thomas Cromwell: The untold story of Henry VIII's most faithful servant' Riveting. This is a real people's history that takes us straight into the sensate feelings of ordinary life
the feel, touch, smells, and labour of people living five centuries ago, giving an earthy reality to our enduring fascination with the Tudors
Juliet Gardiner Always entertaining, and her narrative is often lifted by the fact that she has taken the trouble to experience many of the alien aspects of Tudor life ... This imbues the book with a palpable sense of the texture of our ancestors' day-to-day lives
Observer
Most historians simply research the past; she lives it ... she's experienced almost every activity she describes. This book is packed with delicious kernels of knowledge ... all served up by the most delightfully eccentric author I've ever encountered. Seldom have I had so much fun reading history. Seldom have I learnt so much.
Gerard DeGroot
The Times
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