The essential introduction to the Middle Ages by the bestselling author of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England We tend to think of the Middle Ages as a dark, backward and unchanging time characterised by violence, ignorance and superstition. By contrast we believe progress arose from science and technological innovation, and that inventions of recent centuries created the modern world. We couldn't be more wrong. As Ian Mortimer shows in this fascinating book, people's horizons - their knowledge, experience and understanding of the world - expanded dramatically. Life was utterly transformed between 1000 and 1600, marking the transition from a warrior-led society to that of Shakespeare. Just as The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England revealed what it was like to live in the fourteenth century, Medieval Horizons provides the perfect primer to the era as a whole. It outlines the enormous cultural changes that took place - from literacy to living standards, inequality and even the developing sense of self - thereby correcting misconceptions and presenting the period as a revolutionary age of fundamental importance in the development of the Western world. Praise for Ian Mortimer: 'The endlessly inventive Ian Mortimer is the most remarkable medieval historian of our time' - The Times
Ian Mortimer Book order
Dr. Ian Mortimer is a historian and novelist, celebrated for his engaging 'Time Traveller's Guides' series. His narratives often draw inspiration from his home in the small Dartmoor town of Moretonhampstead, weaving its atmosphere into his stories. Mortimer also explores historical fiction under the pseudonym James Forrester, and his recent memoir reflects on the personal significance of running. His diverse creative output extends to songwriting, further showcasing his multifaceted literary talents.






- 2023
- 2020
The Time Traveller's Guide to Regency Britain
- 360 pages
- 13 hours of reading
'Ian Mortimer's Time Traveller's Guide to Regency Britain tells you all you need to know about criminals, disease, beggars and other late Georgian delights' Daily Telegraph, History Books of the Year This is the age of Jane Austen and the Romantic poets; the paintings of John Constable and the gardens of Humphry Repton; the sartorial elegance of Beau Brummell and the poetic licence of Lord Byron; Britain's military triumphs at Trafalgar and Waterloo; the threat of revolution and the Peterloo massacre. In the latest volume of his celebrated series of Time Traveller's Guides, Ian Mortimer turns to what is arguably the most-loved period in British history - the Regency, or Georgian England. Ian Mortimer takes us on a thrilling journey to the past, revealing what people ate, drank, and wore; where they shopped and how they amused themselves; what they believed in and what they were afraid of. Conveying the sights, sounds and smells of the Regency period, this is history at its most exciting, physical, visceral - the past not as something to be studied but as lived experience.
- 2019
Why Running Matters
- 320 pages
- 12 hours of reading
In this year-long memoir, the celebrated historian Ian Mortimer considers the meaning of running as he approaches his fiftieth birthday. From injuries and frustrated ambitions to exhilaration and empathy, it is a personal and yet universal account of what running means to people, and how it helps everyone focus on what really matters.
- 2018
Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain
- 480 pages
- 17 hours of reading
The third volume in the series of Ian Mortimer's bestselling Time Traveller's Guides answers these crucial questions and encourages us to reflect on the customs and practices of daily life. This unique guide not only teaches us about the seventeenth century but makes us look with fresh eyes at the modern world.
- 2017
The Outcasts of Time
- 400 pages
- 14 hours of reading
From the author described by The Times as 'the most remarkable historian of our time', the publication of Ian Mortimer's first work of historical fiction is a hugely exciting event. A stunningly high-concept story that is both as daring as it is gripping, it is perfect for fans of Conn Iggulden, SJ Parris and Kate Mosse.
- 2015
The Dying and the Doctors
- 246 pages
- 9 hours of reading
A survey of the changes in medical care for those approaching death in the early modern period.
- 2015
Human Race
- 416 pages
- 15 hours of reading
What were the major changes of each of the previous nine centuries? Which developments, movements and inventions most profoundly affected the Western World?
- 2014
Centuries of Change
- 403 pages
- 15 hours of reading
In Centuries of Change bestselling historian Ian Mortimer takes you on a whirlwind tour of the last ten centuries of Western history. It is a journey into a past vividly brought to life and bursting with ideas, that pits one century against another in his quest to measure which century saw the greatest change. We journey from a time when there was a fair chance of your village being burnt to the ground by invaders, and dried human dung was a recommended cure for cancer, to a world in which explorers sailed into the unknown and civilisations came into conflict with each other on an epic scale. Here is a story of godly scientists, shrewd farmers, cold-hearted entrepreneurs and strong-minded women - a story of discovery, invention, revolution and cataclysmic shifts in perspective. Centuries of Change is a journey into the past like no other. Our understanding of change will never be the same again, and the lessons we learn along the way are profound ones for us all.
- 2013
The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England. Im Mittelalter, englische Ausgabe
- 352 pages
- 13 hours of reading
Machine generated contents note:1.The Landscape --2.The People --3.Religion --4.Character --5.Basic Essentials --6.What to Wear --7.Travelling --8.Where to Stay --9.What to Eat and Drink --10.Hygiene, Illness and Medicine --11.Law and Disorder --12.Entertainment.
- 2010
The Greatest Traitor
- 400 pages
- 14 hours of reading
One night in August 1323 a captive rebel baron, Sir Roger Mortimer, drugged his guards and escaped from the Tower of London. This first biography reveals not only the man's career as a feudal lord, a governor of Ireland, a rebel leader and a dictator of England but also the truth of what happened that night in Berkeley Castle.


