How to Do It

Guides to Good Living for Renaissance Italians

Nonfiction, History, Renaissance
Cover of the book How to Do It by Rudolph M. Bell, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Rudolph M. Bell ISBN: 9780226041834
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: September 1, 2000
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Rudolph M. Bell
ISBN: 9780226041834
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: September 1, 2000
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

How to Do It shows us sixteenth-century Italy from an entirely new perspective: through manuals which were staples in the households of middlebrow Italians merely trying to lead better lives. Addressing challenges such as how to conceive a boy, the manuals offered suggestions such as tying a tourniquet around your husband's left testicle. Or should you want to goad female desires, throw 90 grubs in a liter of olive oil, let steep in the sun for a week and apply liberally on the male anatomy. Bell's journey through booklets long dismissed by scholars as being of little literary value gives us a refreshing and surprisingly fun social history.

"Lively and curious reading, particularly in its cascade of anecdote, offered in a breezy, cozy, journalistic style." —Lauro Martines, Times Literary Supplement

"[Bell's] fascinating book is a window on a lost world far nearer to our own than we might imagine. . . . How pleasant to read his delightful, informative and often hilarious book." —Kate Saunders, The Independent

"An extraordinary work which blends the learned with the frankly bizarre." —The Economist

"Professor Bell has a sly sense of humor and an enviably strong stomach. . . . He wants to know how people actually behaved, not how the Church or philosophers or earnest humanists thought they should behave. I loved this book." —Christopher Stace, Daily Telegraph

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

How to Do It shows us sixteenth-century Italy from an entirely new perspective: through manuals which were staples in the households of middlebrow Italians merely trying to lead better lives. Addressing challenges such as how to conceive a boy, the manuals offered suggestions such as tying a tourniquet around your husband's left testicle. Or should you want to goad female desires, throw 90 grubs in a liter of olive oil, let steep in the sun for a week and apply liberally on the male anatomy. Bell's journey through booklets long dismissed by scholars as being of little literary value gives us a refreshing and surprisingly fun social history.

"Lively and curious reading, particularly in its cascade of anecdote, offered in a breezy, cozy, journalistic style." —Lauro Martines, Times Literary Supplement

"[Bell's] fascinating book is a window on a lost world far nearer to our own than we might imagine. . . . How pleasant to read his delightful, informative and often hilarious book." —Kate Saunders, The Independent

"An extraordinary work which blends the learned with the frankly bizarre." —The Economist

"Professor Bell has a sly sense of humor and an enviably strong stomach. . . . He wants to know how people actually behaved, not how the Church or philosophers or earnest humanists thought they should behave. I loved this book." —Christopher Stace, Daily Telegraph

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Ethics and Practice in Science Communication by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book Transition Scenarios by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book Measuring Wealth and Financial Intermediation and Their Links to the Real Economy by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book Synthetic by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book Dream Trippers by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book Nice Guys Finish Last by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book How to Succeed in College (While Really Trying) by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book The Fullness of Time by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book The Philosophical Hitchcock by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book Reinventing Public Education by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book High-Stakes Schooling by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book Contra Keynes and Cambridge by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book Race, Class, and Politics in the Cappuccino City by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book The Bond of the Furthest Apart by Rudolph M. Bell
Cover of the book Population Fluctuations in Rodents by Rudolph M. Bell
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy