Tag Archives: Medieval

The Blooding

Posted on April 5, 2021 by smellincoffee

Master of War: The Blooding© 2013 David Gilman512 pages Thomas Blackstone is a free man, a stonemason who learned his trade alongside his deaf-mute brother Richard.  When Richard is accused of raping and killing a young woman,  the price for … Continue reading →

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How Dante Can Save Your Life

Posted on August 13, 2020 by smellincoffee

How Dante Can Save Your Life: The Life-Changing Wisdom of History’s Greatest Poem © 2015 Rod Dreher 322 pages Selected Quotations How Dante Can Save Your Life is one man’s account of how that Renaissance poet’s epic  tale of a … Continue reading →

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War of the Wolf

Posted on April 30, 2019 by smellincoffee

War of the Wolfpub. 2018 Bernard Cornwell333 pages Uhtred of Bebbanburg is called a priest-killer, a chief of devils. And yet when a distressed and scarred monk came to his gates and begged that he send help to Mercia, beset … Continue reading →

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The Arabian Nights

Posted on November 14, 2018 by smellincoffee

Tales from the Arabian Nights “If you are not sleepy, tell us one of your lovely, little tales to while away the night.” Shahrazad replied, “With the greatest pleasure”:Tales from The Arabian Nights proved an interesting challenge, because most collections … Continue reading →

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The Prince

Posted on October 30, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Prince© 1532 Niccolo Machiavelli100 pages Italy, circa 1500, was a rough neighborhood. Divided between powerful city-centered states and frequently threatened by outside empires,  few rulers could rest on their laurels and enjoy a prolonged peace. Even if someone outside … Continue reading →

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City of Fortune

Posted on March 15, 2018 by smellincoffee

City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas© 2012 Roger Crowley464 pages In the north of the Adriatic grew a city built not on land, but upon the water — whose fortune was earned in transit, by  running the ships … Continue reading →

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The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England

Posted on February 11, 2018 by smellincoffee

The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century© 2008 Ian Mortimer342 pages Within minutes of being transported to the time of King Arthur,  Mark Twain’s fictional Yankee found himself arrested and facing death.  … Continue reading →

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The Canterbury Tales

Posted on April 30, 2017 by smellincoffee

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! *ahem* If you’ve ever glanced at my Classics Club list, you’ll see Canterbury Tales sitting there, and I’ve regarded it as one of the tougher ones on my list — in the same tier as the Russians,  April is the … Continue reading →

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Lost Enlightenment

Posted on November 28, 2016 by smellincoffee

Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane © 2015 S. Frederick Starr618 pages Lost Enlightenment takes readers back to a time when Central Asia was the crossroads of the world, a hub of both commercial and … Continue reading →

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Dubh-Linn

Posted on October 31, 2016 by smellincoffee

Dubh-Linn: A Novel of Viking-Age Ireland© 2014 James Nelson326 pages All Thorgrim Nightwolf wanted was to go home.But the gods and Irish women have a way of…complicating things.  Thorgrim has more sense than to tangle with this benighted island and … Continue reading →

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