"Life in a Medieval City"

Life in a Medieval City (Joseph & Frances Gies)

Just what it says on the cover - this is a slim little book (200 or so small pages) detailing everyday life in Troyes, circa 1250, covering everything from what a housewife did all day to table manners to the economic and religious systems (although, strangely, not much about the political setup). It's quite interesting; the only time I found my attention drifting was while the authors were describing clothing styles, which was also an issue with The Time Traveler's Guide Guide to Medieval England. This book isn't nearly so weighty or in-depth as that one, but I enjoyed it almost as much. Some Amazon reviews mentioned that this book may contain terms and phrases that are a little too advanced for the beginning reader, but that didn't really bug me; I had more trouble with the untranslated French terms, and I feel confident recommending this one to everybody.

Grade: A-