Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been fascinated by the history of medicine, particularly the more macabre details. While researching my family lineage, I became especially interested in medieval medicine and the lives of English monarchs. I was honored to be asked to write a book on medicine in the middle ages, and I dove into the research head first. I have been lucky enough to write for several other publications, and I have self-published on Amazon. I enjoy writing historical fiction and my novel, Sleeping with the Impaler, was a book I truly enjoyed writing. I hope the books I recommended spark your interest as they will stay with me forever.


I wrote

Medicine in the Middle Ages: Surviving the Times

By Juliana Cummings,

Book cover of Medicine in the Middle Ages: Surviving the Times

What is my book about?

Medicine in the Middle Ages is a fascinating walk through time to the beginnings of European medicine. Learn how the…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England

Juliana Cummings Why did I love this book?

Ian’s book was spot on. Everything you imagine the middle ages to be is brought to life through this brilliant and sometimes amusing read. Ian dives into the dreadful living conditions of the time and gives you an uncanny look at the middle ages. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in how people lived during the middle ages!

By Ian Mortimer,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The past is a foreign country. This is your guidebook. Imagine you could get into a time machine and travel back to the fourteenth century. What would you see? What would you smell? More to the point, where are you going to stay? Should you go to a castle or a monastic guest house? And what are you going to eat? What sort of food are you going to be offered by a peasant or a monk or a lord? This radical new approach turns our entire understanding of history upside down. It shows us that the past is not…


Book cover of The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time

Juliana Cummings Why did I love this book?

The Great Mortality was a key tool in my research for my book. John covered the Black Death in every country it devastated, such as England, Italy, and France. He touches on the effect the Black Death had on the church and the great lengths that were taken to protect the pope. He goes into morbid detail about the plague, and you get a real understanding of what these people went through. I can not recommend this book enough. 

By John Kelly,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Great Mortality as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Powerful, rich with details, moving, humane, and full of important lessons for an age when weapons of mass destruction are loose among us.” — Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb 

The Great Plague is one of the most compelling events in human history—even more so now, when the notion of plague has never loomed larger as a contemporary public concern.

The plague that devastated Asia and Europe in the 14th century has been of never-ending interest to both scholarly and general readers. Many books on the plague rely on statistics to tell the story:…


Book cover of Richard III: Loyalty Binds Me

Juliana Cummings Why did I love this book?

Matt Lewis is a brilliant historian and writer. This biography of Richard III is beautifully written. Matt takes us through Richard’s life from his time as a young boy to his death at Bosworth. Matt’s passion for this monarch is clear, and he makes a very strong case for why he believes the crown was stolen out from under him. Well done, Matt.

By Matthew Lewis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Richard III as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

King Richard III remains one of the most controversial figures in British history. Matthew Lewis's new biography aims to become a definitive account by exploring what is known of his childhood and the impacts it had on his personality and view of the world. He would be cast into insecurity and exile only to become a royal prince before his tenth birthday.

As Richard spends his teenage years under the watchful gaze of his older brother, Edward IV, he is eventually placed in the household of their cousin, the Earl of Warwick, remembered as the Kingmaker; but as the relationship…


Book cover of Henry

Juliana Cummings Why did I love this book?

Henry VII holds a special place in my heart, and I was hooked on Tony’s book immediately. It was so refreshing to read a historical novel on my favorite monarch. Tony truly brought Henry to life. Henry’s love not only for country but for his beloved wife was so beautifully described. I intend to read the rest of the trilogy!

By Tony Riches,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Henry as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Would you become King of England...

If you had to win the crown by conquest?

Henry Tudor’s victory over King Richard III at Bosworth is only the beginning.

Can he end the Wars of the Roses through marriage to the beautiful Princess Elizabeth - and unite the warring houses of Lancaster and York?

Resentment, treachery, rebels and pretenders threaten Henry’s throne.

It seems his prayers are answered, then disaster strikes and Henry must ensure the future of the Tudors.

The third book in the international best-selling Tudor trilogy is based on actual events of courage, adventure, and belief in the…


Book cover of The Physician

Juliana Cummings Why did I love this book?

The Physician was one of the most exceptional books I have read on the middle ages. I love historical fiction, and I was sucked into this book from page one. Noah takes us through the life of Rob J, a young boy who teams up with a barber-surgeon during the 11th century. For someone who is well-schooled on this time in history, I can honestly say that this book was on point with every historical fact. Please read this book. You won’t be sorry.

By Noah Gordon,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Physician as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Rob Cole, a penniless orphan in 11th-century London, is possessed by a mysterious power - he can sense death. A mere apprentice, he dreams of controlling the forces of life and death, of mastering the knowledge that will earn him the title of physician.


Explore my book 😀

Medicine in the Middle Ages: Surviving the Times

By Juliana Cummings,

Book cover of Medicine in the Middle Ages: Surviving the Times

What is my book about?

Medicine in the Middle Ages is a fascinating walk through time to the beginnings of European medicine. Learn how the four humors were the concept that medicine revolved around and why bloodletting and purging were common treatments. Get firsthand accounts of the gruesome ordeal of childbirth and the devastation the Black Death had on the world’s population.

Medicine in the Middle Ages is not only a book rich with details of the practice of medicine, but it is a history book that comes alive.

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The Bloomsbury Photographs

By Maggie Humm,

Book cover of The Bloomsbury Photographs

Maggie Humm Author Of Radical Woman: Gwen John & Rodin

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Woolfian Gym devotee World-traveller

Maggie's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

An enthralling portrait of the Bloomsbury Group’s key figures told through a rich collection of intimate photographs. Photography framed the world of the Bloomsbury Group. The thousands of photographs surviving in albums kept by Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, Dora Carrington, and Lytton Strachey, among others, today offer us a private insight into their lives.

Maggie Humm brings together a curated selection of these photographs to offer us a fresh portrait of the Bloomsbury Group, showing them in a new, domestic intimacy. She brings to life the texture of Bloomsbury: their pastimes, children, clothes, houses, servants, pets, and holidays.

The Bloomsbury…

The Bloomsbury Photographs

By Maggie Humm,

What is this book about?

An enthralling portrait of the Bloomsbury Group's key figures told through a rich collection of intimate photographs

Photography framed the world of the Bloomsbury Group. The thousands of photographs surviving in albums kept by Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, Dora Carrington, and Lytton Strachey, among others, today offer us a private insight into their lives.

Maggie Humm brings together a curated selection of these photographs to offer us a fresh portrait of the Bloomsbury Group, showing them in a new, domestic intimacy. She brings to life the texture of Bloomsbury: their pastimes, children, clothes, houses, servants, pets, holidays. Several photographs are…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Middle Ages, Richard III of England, and plagues?

The Middle Ages 426 books
Plagues 52 books