How to Behave Badly in Elizabethan England: A Guide for Knaves, Fools, Harlots, Cuckolds, Drunkards, Liars, Thieves, and Braggarts [Hardcover]

Every age and social strata has its bad eggs, rule-breakers, and nose-thumbers. As acclaimed popular historian and author ofOffensive language, insolent behavior,slights, brawls, and scandals come alive inRuth Goodmans uproarious history. Oh, how I wish Ruth Goodman could be my tutor. But settling in for one of her history lessons is better than second best... Although 21st-century Americans arent likely to be hauled into court, as some 16th-century Britons were, for deploying a pungent epithet like a turd in your teeth or engaging in the criminal offense of scolding, Goodman need hardly remind us that manners, power and insult are intricately linked. Gleeful and illuminating.... Goodman deftly combines anecdotes and examples that illustrate each topic and clear explanations of why certain behavior matters socially and philosophically in that time and place. Both a highly readable and very funny treatment of a popular historical period and an invitation for readers to think about their own understandings of social etiquette. This entertaining, excellent book from Goodman ( With exhaustive research and in gleeful detail, Goodman (US