You Wouldn't Want to Be Ill in Tudor Times

A grisly, comic journey into Tudor medicine, plunging readers into bloodletting, leeches, plague treatments and brutal surgery through the eyes of a barber-surgeon's apprentice.

Step into the foul-smelling streets of 16th-century London and discover why you really wouldn't want to be ill in Tudor times. Told through the eyes of Nicholas Knight, a barber-surgeon's apprentice, this lively second-person narrative plunges readers into a world of bloodletting, leeches and alarming diagnoses.Step into the foul-smelling streets of 16th-century London and discover why you really wouldn't want to be ill in Tudor times. Told through the eyes of Nicholas Knight, a barber-surgeon's apprentice, this lively second-person narrative plunges readers into a world of bloodletting, leeches and alarming diagnoses. From inspecting urine in glass flasks to witnessing battlefield amputations, treating plague victims and serving at the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, children experience the gruesome realities of Tudor medicine first-hand. Packed with comic-style illustrations, speech bubbles and "Handy Hints", the book balances humour with fun but factual historical detail. Readers encounter Vesalius and early anatomy lessons in Padua, quacks and cunning healers, herbal remedies and the grim world of surgery without anaesthetic. With a glossary and index, this curriculum-linked introduction to the Tudors brings history vividly to life and engages even the most reluctant readers.