Here is an interview between NPR’s Dave Davies and Hooman Majd about The Ministry of Guidance Invites You To Not Stay. You can either read the transcript or listen to the interview. The interview itself is around 33 minutes and worth the listen if you have the time.
The Next Book: The Ministry of Guidance Invites You To Not Stay
August’s book will be The Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not Stay by Hooman Majd. As always you can get copies at our Circulation Desk on the first floor. The discussion will be August 29th.
Elizabethan Houses
Here are a few great houses and a palace so you can get an idea what Elizabethan architecture looked like.
Wollaton Hall. The website includes great pictures of rooms and a historical timeline
Hardwick Hall. Pictures of the house and grounds as well as the gallery.
Montacute. Click on the picture gallery.
Hampton Court. Can be rented for special occasions!
Elizabethan Boats and Exploration
Had enough information about the Elizabethan era, yet? Well here’s some more! Boats were a huge part of Elizabeth’s dreams of economic and military power. Here are some resources that will expand your knowledge even further about Elizabethan exploration and what kind of boats there actually were.
Gresham College – Elizabethan Merchant Ships and Shipbuilding (hour long lecture, worth it to skip around for the pictures)
Sir Julian Stafford Corbett – Drake and the Tudor Navy (again, worth it for the pictures)
British Library – Exploration and Trade in Elizabethan England (great picture galleries!)
J.P. Sommerville – Elizabethan Exploration (Maps!)
Elizabethan Era Portrayed in Movies
As we all know, movies are made to entertain, not educate. If they were for education then we’d all be frightened of giant sand worms, legions of zombies, falling pianos, ill-timed revenge, seeing big dramatic speeches in airports and all of our neighbors being psychopathic murderers. It’s all just for fun!
However, when Hollywood decides to do a period piece (any period if we’re honest) the costuming is what puts us into the time and the setting and most of the time that setting is decided not by historians but by producers and costumers. This blog entry nails many of the costuming shortcuts and faux pas in the most famous period pieces of our time.
And after you’re done reading that, go ahead and see their Top 5 Elizabethan movies/TV shows to get you in the spirit of the book.
Hey it doesn’t have to be accurate, just fun. Leave the historical reality to Ian Mortimer.
16th Century Food
You might have been wondering: how can I, a person of the 21st Century, eat like the people of the Elizabethan era? Well curious gourmand, wonder no more! Here are some recipes you can make to re-create the foods of an era long past!
On this website: http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/old-elizabethan-recipes.htm, You will find a lot of recipes with links to pastries, candies, sweets and a few dinner items such as Stuffed Goose, Hen With Oysters, and Roast Pig with Pudding in its Belly.
This website: http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/shak-feast.cfm might be a little more feasable for the current chef.
Elizabethan Clothing
While Ian Mortimer does an excellent job describing life in Elizabethan England, I thought that maybe some pictures would help for those of us who haven’t seen accurate Elizabethan dress before.
Here is one website walking through the steps of putting on an upper-class Elizabethan dress: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/overview.html
What colors mean in Elizabethan commoners clothing: http://www.elizabethancostume.net/lowerclass/lcolors.html
This is a Prezi presentation on Elizabethan dress (keep clicking the right arrow under the picture): https://prezi.com/9kl25x5fdafs/elizabethan-clothing-for-the-rich-vs-the-poor/
The World of Elizabethan England
To get a good idea about the world we are “time traveling” to, here are some helpful maps to give perspective.
True Story Book Club 