I loved this book.

I already love medieval manuscripts and the stories that go along with them - about marginalia and the sheer effort that goes in to making one. What Wellesley has done here is look at manuscripts to understand the people who made them, used them, saved them, and occasionally caused their destruction. I read this in uncorrected proof, as an ebook (and there's some twisty lineage there from hand-written sheepskin to pixels), so I'm not sure whether the published version will have images, but that's about the only thing that would make this even more of a joy to read.

An overview of the chapters will show just why this is such a fabulous book.
Chapter 1: Discoveries. aka "near heart-attack-land at the idea that the Book of Margery Kempe was nearly not found." She uses just a couple of manuscript discoveries to show just how contingent our 21st century knowledge of, awareness of, and possession of such manuscripts is.
Chapter 2: Near Disasters. Imagine me having heart palpitations at the fire in Ashburnham House, home of the Cotton collection and various other rather important bits of parchment. As above with the contingency, with added flames.
Chapter 3: Patrons. Who wanted stories written about themselves, and who wanted their own copies of particular books (Henry VIII annotated his Book of Psalms. I have no problem with this, other than it reveals his colossal ego, equating himself with David.)
Chapter 4: Artists. The images added to some manuscripts make them incredible works of art. Wellesley examines what is known about some of the people who did this work, their inspiration and their methods.
Chapter 5: Scribes. Who did the physical act of writing... and that some of them were women.
Chapter 6: Authors and scribes. Probably one of the hardest things for moderns to grasp is the lack of the concept of 'author' in the medieval period. If a student copies a quote without a reference, they're in trouble; 700 years ago, someone could copy out a story from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and stick it in their own collection of stuff with nary an acknowledgement (yes I am aware this happens today; it was less of a cause for hue and cry back in the day, for various reasons). Figuring out exactly who was the author of various things is the work of a lifetime for some historians.
Chapter 7: Hidden Authors... basically carries on a similar idea from Chapter 6, but in particular looks at works written for (and by?) anchorites - people who had decided to get themselves walled away, to devote themselves more fully to Christ.

The book's intrigue - who wrote it? who sold it? why do we only have one copy? It's got feminism - women wrote and read and commissioned and created. It's suffused with a love of books and reading, it's a celebration of books as objects, and it ends with Gutenberg and that weird interstitial period where some manuscripts were created by copying out the text from a printed book. And the author's voice is present throughout, which I found a lovely touch: what it was like to view a manuscript at the British Library, or a discovery as an undergrad, or an experience learning about the making of parchment.

This is a wonderful book about books. Entirely accessible to the non-medievalist, in fact a great entry for those with no real conception of the medieval manuscript.

This is a fascinating and enjoyable read about manuscripts, and mainly focuses on how they were made (first chapters), by whom, how they were found, or how they were saved (tossed out the window during the Great Blaze in 1731!).

Texts are also given in MIddle English - and give us a glimpse - at times in the form of a wordplay or riddle - , of what people were like, if they were young or old, in love, had children, what they did, et&

I have always been fascinated by the Middle Ages (most favorite book The Name of the Rose) and have been doing calligraphy as a hobby for years, I can make paper look old, and use iron gall ink, but when I think how much work went into making these works of art, I can’t help but be humble.

For further reference, I recommend Meeting with remarkable manuscripts (buy the hardcover!) and ‘Wereld in woorden’ by Frits van Oostrom (Dutch medieval literature 1300-1400).

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reader’s copy.

A collection of stories around historical manuscripts from all kinds of places and times. Each one exquisitely positioned within the stories of the real people who commissioned, penned, lost, found, preserved, and studied them. It's a fascinating glimpse into history by way of individual collections and makes you realize how much is lost and how torturous the paths from creation to safety was for so many.

This book is a really great read for lover's of the history of manuscripts and how they survived through time. The Gilded Page is a really interesting read if you've ever wanted to know the materials, ink processes and modern discoveries related to manuscripts. It also explores manuscripts through a wide swath of times and periods. I love books and reading about the history of books so I just really enjoyed this little golden nugget of joy.

Secret messages encoded in medieval manuscripts by mysterious authors is such a Nancy Drew, Secret Seven, lemon-juice-to-create-invisible-ink concept that I defy any bibliophile not to snatch up The Gilded Page by Mary Wellesley.



A carefully curated tour of the written word in medieval manuscripts. The Gilded Page touches on everything from Henry VIII scribbling his god complex into the margins of an ornate Psalter to medieval poets writing odes to genitalia. Wellesley clearly has an eye for the intriguing oddities of her chosen period, and she manages to include enough detail for an academic reader, with enough exposition and scandal to keep the casual reader hooked.



Rather than follow a linear timeline, The Gilded Page is instead composed of a series of the themed chapters. This helps keep the pace moving and each chapter builds nicely on the next. The Near Disasters chapter is particularly fascinating, featuring daring tales of librarians hurling smoking books from the windows of fire-struck libraries. And of course I had my squeezy lemon to hand for the Authors Hidden chapter.



While Wellesley provides more than enough intrigue, there were moments when the intricacies of medieval prose sailed straight over my head. Overall, however, The Gilded Page is a delightful scamper through a period that can be mischaracterized as a bit dull and dreary.

In college I considered medieval history to be my "hobby history" that I often read for fun because it was a complete break from my normal studies of Early Modern World, Modern World, American, Middle Eastern, and Diplomatic histories. For me the Middle Ages appear to be a fascinating time to study and it is a passion that I have shared in the classroom that I teach in. One area of interest to me is the concept of manuscript writing and the process that scribes in this time went through in order to create some of the greatest works of literature that we know come from this time period. This is a very interesting topic that has even left me wishing I could have been alongside these scribes and seen how they went through their craft. I had always hoped to come across a great work rich in scholarship and narrative that could help shed light on this time frame. Thankfully Dr. Wellesley's book does just that! I felt as if I was right alongside her in the British Library as she examined some of the most well known works of Medieval literature such as Beowulf and Le Morte Darthur to lesser known works such as The Book of Margery Kemp. It has been fascinating to see these works broken down in great detail and even have their genesis explained by looking into how these and many other manuscripts came to be. With this book I think I finally have reached my goal of having some sort of sense into what it was like to be alongside those who worked collaboratively to create such epic manuscripts and I would recommend anyone else who would like to be alongside these individuals as I have always wished that they do in fact pick up this wonderful book!

The Gilded Page explores not just Medieval manuscripts, but the world in which these manuscripts existed, and the forces that created, shaped, and preserved them. And while it serves as a highly researched exploration of the reasons and people who created these works of devotion and art, as well as what information we can glean from these texts in the modern day, overall I found the organization of the book to be a bit uneven. Some parts go into such detail that you forget if you’re reading about manuscripts or the epistolary habits of the 14th/15th Century Such-and-Suches. There are also moments where the author inserts herself into the text with personal anecdotes that don’t contribute to the research being presented, and these felt a bit out of context with the rest of the content.

Recommended for people looking for a general potpourri of Medieval/manuscript trivia, but not a historical deep-dive into manuscripts themselves.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

I loved this book. Absolutely totally loved it!

If you're like me and the smell, the weight, the texture of an old book in your hands makes your heart sing then you'll love it too. The author delves deeply into the history of old manuscripts and makes them come alive. How fascinating to learn, not just about how they were created, but also about the people who once owned these manuscripts...some over a millennium ago. It's astonishing they've survived so long and breathtaking when you read how close some of them came to bring destroyed.

This is a treasure I'm sure to read time and time again!

A wonderful book that transports the reader into the world of the writers and creators of the earliest manuscripts. Exquisitely detailed. I loved it and can't wait to buy a hard copy. I'm also planning a visit to the British Library.

I recommend it to anyone who likes the story and wonders what it was like to create these wonderful manuscripts. I like the author's approach, the stories, the shedding of light on the role of women.

This was a very interesting and informative read about the history of books, or well, manuscripts. I liked that it didn't just talk about the manuscripts themselves but about the people surrounding the creation of it. I also liked how the author put some focus on women, and shed some light on the unknown scribes, artists, and patrons that helped many manuscripts come about.

I enjoyed the first few chapters compared to the later ones. I felt like there were a lot more interesting bits there, and that they weren't quite as wordy or chunky as the later ones, which did sort of make it a chore to read. Overall an enjoyable book despite its let downs, but I did learn a lot, so there's that.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving access to a digital ARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is everything that I love about history. The author flawlessly analyzes and presents how something as simple as manuscripts can tell you so much more than just what is written there. Medieval manuscripts can tell you so much about the author and about the society they live in. Mary Wellesley seamlessly ties together the clues hidden in manuscripts and highlights forgotten figures, bringing the manuscripts and the people who wrote them to life in such a magnificent way.

This was so easy to read, not overwhelming or just a huge dump of information for you to wade through. The writing was very accessible and interesting and kept my attention the entire time. This will probably go down as one of my favorite non-fiction books ever.

If you enjoy the texture and smell of a manuscript or book and wonder about it's history or herstory, this book is is a lovely read. Ms Wellesley describes fascinating documents , how they survived through time, and the frequently anonymous people behind their making. "The Gilded Page" has information on materials, medieval inks, and the modern discoveries of books thought lost. She ranges from the Cuthbert Gospel, Lindisfarne Gospels, the Book of Margery Kempe, and Beowulf, to the less well known, Encomium Emmae Reginae, Luttrell Psalter, and the Book of Nunnaminster and more. She has sections on artists, scribes, and authors, fires, and other disasters and hypothesizes why some manuscripts were protected and others were not. She also questions how much editing has been done by scribes using the works of Chaucer as an example and what visions by later editors differed from the original author. I like that the author raises questions that cannot be answered but lead to discussion. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. That said, I am a librarian and am grateful to those dedicated artists, authors, scribes and annotators.

This is a fascinating history of manuscripts and how the portion of the ancient & medieval canon that has survived has reached us. It’s a book that fills with you with gratitude for what we have and makes your heart break for all that’s been lost from all over the world, but also cognizant of the politics and other forces in play that have influenced preservation and early publishing. It’s a great read that is the perfect mix of scholarly and accessible, and we think many of you will like it.

The Gilded Page is one if the best sort of nonfiction, it's an interesting topic that's been well researched and well written. The author takes a look at medieval manuscripts from England, discussing their creation, illustrations, themes, scribes, and authors. It's a very comprehensive look without being too overwhelming. I liked that the author didn't focus on only the religious manuscripts, and instead highlighted many secular works and poetry as well, with many named female scribes and writers being discussed.

This was an unusual example of my taste in the book concerned changing quite greatly whilst reading it, and it not being my fault. Too often I've found a break of even a few hours from a book bringing a difference of opinion about it – something I loved getting too wordy, something that seemed right up my street suddenly becoming facile exactly at the point I happened to need to break off. But even tackling this in a lengthy day I found the first couple of chapters much more appealing, much more in tune with the layman's expectations, than the ones that followed.

What I began with was a very readable look at certain instances of pre-printing manuscripts – those artefacts on paper or vellum or whatever that shine a light almost into the dark ages. Looking in turn at how such cultural entities get lost for centuries and found by pure chance, or get burnt down or otherwise sadly destroyed, I found this really amenable. I come to this subject as the generic reader on the generic public transport system, and no more, and I found the fact we only used our windows on to the subjects to look at two or three instances pleasingly non-academical.

But then things turned, and this book conspired to make me skip small sections. The life of a pre-Norman Queen of England (ish) was in a little too much detail to be fully relevant, and the look at Henry VIII's personally produced prayer book indeed as forensic as I might have feared. Towards the end we get what seemed like longueurs about a certain religious practice, and these too seemed to be writing around the subject. That doesn't make this a bad book – it does what it wants, cleverly picking certain relevant MSs to highlight what can be said about the illustrators, the copiers, and perhaps even the original authorial voices of these items. But it did make it one that the general public, the Mr Average such as I, might not fully thank the creators for. So at the risk of being called an impatient philistine, I might suggest this find much more favour from the specialist reader.

This work is a discussion about the history of medieval manuscripts.

Overall, the work is an informative read as to how manuscripts are created, stored, found, and the history behind their discovery. This work is a delight for those who are interested in antiquarian works, historical preservation, librarians and curators. This would not really be considered a "light read" for a broader audience, as it does at times feel more like a recitation of people, places and facts.

The author does a good job of blending the text, historical context and narrative creation throughout the work.

Recommended for those who enjoy Susan Orleans and Allison Hoover Bartlett.

I received The Gilded Page as part of a NetGalley giveaway.

Medieval manuscripts contain a wealth of information beyond the words they communicate--from the physical makeup of the texts, to the art that complements them, to the marginal and contextual clues that illuminate (no pun intended) the writer's world. Mary Wellesley challenges popular attitudes towards manuscripts and the people that created them, discusses the circumstances behind their relative scarcity in the modern day, and brings to life the all-too-often forgotten figures who nevertheless contributed greatly to the creative and intellectual life of the Middle Ages.

This was a magnificent read. The prose is engaging and accessible, containing fascinating accounts of unlikely and unheralded medieval writers, artists, and craftsmen whose work has shined a rare light on a period about which we know relatively little. And many of these people were not the white male religious that we tend to visualize when we think of the creators of manuscripts. Learning about manuscripts, from their base materials to their textual and artistic development, to their loss and (sometimes) rediscovery in the early modern and modern periods, was a fascinating and enriching experience.