Alison Sim: 5 books

The political and military history of the sixteenth century is well known, and much written about, but what of the thousands of women who have, for the most part, eluded the historian's pen? 'The Tudor Housewife' aims to answer this question, providing a unique and accessible introduction to the everyday...

Although life in Tudor England was ordered in a strict hierarchy and the divisions between social classes were firmly maintained, a life of service was common for all classes, and servants were not necessarily the lowest stratum in society. At the upper levels of society the children of the wealthy...

Popular representations of the Tudors at table have caricatured them as loud, gross, and lacking any manners. This is actually far from the case, as food and dining were used as social display by the upwardly mobile. For those with money, meals became extravagantly sophisticated, with a staggering...

How did the Tudors enjoy themselves? For the men and women of Tudor England there was, just as there is today, more to life than work. 400 years before the invention of television and radio, they did not lead boring or mundane lives. Indeed, in many ways the richness of Tudor entertainment shames...

Pain is experienced by everyone at some point in their life. Some people experience pain that hangs around far longer than it should. This books tells the stories of people who have experienced persistent pain and recovered from it. It also gives some practical, evidence based advice on how to embrace...