Interesting book I wanted this as I like to use herbs and wanted to know more.
The only problem was some of the spelling and grammar.
Otherwise a very useful book

I have a passing interest in herbalism and learning the uses of herbs. The author has produced an excellent reference book on the subject. She certainly knows her facts and has researched well. It is a book which I found easier to leaf through and land on interesting things rather than read through from the beginning. However it contains fascinating and a bit gory details on the history and uses of herbs. Thanks to Netgalley, Pen & Sword publishers and the author for a great read.

This is an interesting, if gruesome read at times. The first part of the book covers the history of the use of herbs. There follows an A to Z of both the use of herbs for magic and medicine – a useful identifier for further in depth study if required. Various recipe ideas incorporating herbs are at the end of the book. There are comprehensive source notes at the end of the book for those wishing to delve further into any of the topics.

Maybe the author has tried to pack too much into the book, as personally I would have preferred more in depth information about the herbs rather than the summaries provided. The history part of the book is interesting.

An incredibly beautiful book, sadly marred by poor editing and grammar (the commas were shocking!!) and enough serious factual errors in the things I did already know to make me query how reliable the rest of the book was. It's also a little bit in-betweeny in terms of its tone - I found a lot of it would probably have been inaccessible to beginners, but was repetitive or overly-explanatory for experts. I did, however, enjoy the recipes reproduced in the final section - two stars for those, which I hadn't seen before, and for the beautiful layout, but the actual written content is sadly lacking.

There was some interesting information in this one, but while I think it could be a useful reference if you werent' knowledgeable in the topic, it felt a little too disjointed to be a proper source. It was also repetitive in places, and while you could tell a lot of research had gone into it, but I think it bled into the writing a bit too much which reduced how accessible it was.

First time reading/reviewing an arc…

This was well written and easy to follow. Full of interesting and useful information.

My mother taught me to use herbs and I know about the tradition of my hometown. This was an interesting and well researched book that made me learn more and I liked it.
It's well written and compelling even if a bit too fast at times.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I love herbs and was excited to read this book but it fell rather flat for me. It felt dry and I didn’t learn anything new. I was especially disappointed in the lack of real medical uses of the herbs. And how can a book of medical, magical and culinary uses of herbs not include elderberries or elderflowers which have such a rich history in all three? This is a fine and well researched book but it was not a good fit for me.

As a post-graduate historian Ms. Kay has presented her material in a knowledgeable and accessible style. She has researched her subject thoroughly and presents her material by dividing the book into three sections which are preceded by an informative introduction which is well worth reading.

She gives equal attention to the way in which herbs have been used in medicine and culinary purposes. There are plenty of recipes along with an exhaustive list of the ways that herbs can be used in healing. She lists their individual properties and their practical applications.

A thoroughly interesting book which I recommend highly.

Emma Kay’s latest book, A History of Herbalism, has her usual mix of facts from a great variety of sources and recipes from an equally large number of old texts. The main structure works well:
- A (long) introduction
- A history of herbalism and herbalists
- An A-Z of herbs and their uses
- Recipes
The introduction covers the world outside the UK, leaving the history section to focus on Britain.

Within the history section, there are sub-headings of:
- Herbalists of the Fourteenth to Seventeenth Centuries
- Herbalists of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
- Quackery and Hazardous Herbology
- Strewers and Sellers
- Herb Sellers
- Hospitals, Gardens and Stores
- Herb Illustrators
However, the text covers a series of named individuals, such as Nicholas Culpeper, with each one getting a few paragraphs. I think the herbalists are presented in order of birth but, since there are no years of birth or death shown, it’s hard to tell. Also, there is no white space between the mini-biographies or any other indication that we’ve finished with one herbalist and we’re moving on to the next. Although this doesn’t in any way diminish the information Kay is sharing, it does make it much harder for the reader. As with several of Kay’s earlier books, we have impressive research that could have been presented in a much more attractive, reader-friendly manner.

Chapter Two is in two halves: the first looks at the magical elements of herbs and the second looks at the medicinal aspects. That means that we often visit the same herb twice, once to read about its use as an aphrodisiac and once to read that it relieves stomach cramps. I can see why the author did that, but it does make the chapter feel repetitive.

Chapter Three has a lot of recipes in which herbs play a major part. Many are presented in their original language and spelling, including the Anglo-Saxon letter þ, but followed by Kay’s modern translation.

Finally, there are 40+ pages of notes and bibliography. This is a well-researched book and has a lot of interesting stuff but it feels too much like 200 pages of author’s notes rather than a coherent flowing narrative. It would be even better if an editor had spent time on it before publication.

#AHistoryofHerbalism #NetGalley

Emma Kay is probably living my dream. I think if I'd realized in college that "food historian" was an actual career I could have pursued, I'd probably be writing books like this.

Well, not exactly like this, but definitely in the same vein.

So the material was extremely interesting, but I think this book needs another couple passes with an editor with a keen eye for consistency and organization. The first section was a little dry but nothing I couldn't handle, though I see it being a little more difficult to muddle through the density if you don't read a lot of historical texts. The second section was fascinating, if a bit repetitive. And then we get into the recipes. That was unexpected (for me, anyway) to see in a work of historical nonfiction, but I'm delighted the old recipes were in there. I kind of want to try some of the more unusual ones just for the experience. Formatting issues notwithstanding, I liked the recipes.

I do think there's good information here. Reorganizing and honing the focus a bit might help. It covers a LOT but none of it as thoroughly as I'd have liked, but to be fair she never claims the book is comprehensive (that would be a massive undertaking so I don't blame her for the brevity, but I wanted more even with the space she had). Ultimately, I think this was an ambitious project, but even focusing primarily on the British history of herbalism couldn't save this from feeling somehow both pithy and inundating in the same breath. It's a shame because the topic is one that really, really speaks to me, but the end result was that the book felt unfocused.

Ambitious? Absolutely. I just think it needs...not condensing, necessarily, but maybe honing. Not bad but definitely not as good as it could've been.

I've been fascinated by the medicinal properties of herbs since I was recommended sage leaf tea for migraines (it worked - but should be used sparingly!), so "A History of Herbalism" was a book I had to grab. It's well-written, but a trifle frantic in the layout. Even so, this is a valuable book (it has recipes!!). We should probably all have a little herb patch (or pots), even if we don't use them... They're great to have around!

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

A History of Herbalism is a thorough introduction to the use of herbs throughout early modern history. The author focuses on European uses of herbs but includes a little history on eastern uses as well. The images included add to the context really well. Anyone looking for information on specific herbs and their uses will find that information in the text along with cultural and historic contexts as well.

*This book was received as an advanced reviewer's copy from NetGalley.

Herbs mainly bring to mind cooking for most of society. But once, it wasn't that way. Herbs, and their like, have been used as medicines for centuries (and longer!) to help humans deal with the same sorts of issues that we deal with now. Which is not to say go out and take a handful of basil instead of your medicines, those were invented for a reason, but to say that we've always been trying to figure out what works.

This book is broken into three sections, the first about the people and places who studied or promoted herbalism throughout history, the second about various types of herbs themselves and what they were used for in a medicinal sense, and the third recipes that included herbs from various parts of the globe and time.

Probably the best part of this book was about the herbalists and places that promoted herb use throughout history. It was well researched, had a lot of information I hadn't encountered before, and while it could get a bit lengthy (as history books are wont to do), it was still very interesting. My least favorite was probably the section on recipes/cooking with herbs. I love cooking, but I just found the format of this section hard to read and get into (despite the author thoughtfully providing translated versions of recipes). The middle section, on herbs themselves, was good, if a bit repetitive at times. I liked how the author brought in excerpts from other historical texts to talk about some of the subject matter.

An interesting book and definitely reads as more of a reference book (which isn't a bad thing).

Review by M. Reynard 2022

What a fascinating read! I learned so much - more than I can begin to articulate. It was well written, concise and I now have an even longer reading list as well as a list of items I'd like to plant! Well done!

A great informative book on Herbalism. A indepth history of plants used for medicinal and cooking. The author goes extra length to give such details and even includes recipes. Perfect guide for learning and uses for Herbalism

This is a fascinating book, if a bit all over the place. It’s perhaps overly ambitious so, for example, the individual herbs are sometimes given a Latin binomial, sometimes not and seem a bit randomly dealt with in terms of medicinal use throughout history. I picked up a couple of mistakes but they may be in the original sources. Culinary herbs, medicinal herbs, witchcraft, illustration and historical herbal recipes are all covered.

Still, an-up-to date history of western herbalism is very welcome, and this would have been a much more entertaining introduction to the subject than I read when I began training as a medical herbalist. The role of women is given a welcome update in the history of herbalism, and other traditions are mentioned and given credit.

The book is very well researched, and sources given, including websites. Most importantly, it’s very readable, and the old recipes quite fascinating. It should appeal to a pretty wide range of readers.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me the ARC of this book! I thought this was an incredibly informative and well written book. I learned a TON of information about herbalism and its history. I especially liked the section on A-Z herbs and their magical and medicinal uses. The layout of this book was a great decision and it felt like a natural progression. I also loved the recipes and the different dishes outlined in the culinary history section were a great way to end the book and provided a lot of interesting recipes to look through.

This book is divided into three parts. The first provides an overview of a history of botanists and herbalists, complete with sources and citations. The second section acts as an herbal directory, detailing herbal history as well as medicinal properties of each herb; and the third section includes various recipes to create with the herbs featured in the book.

In a much larger sense, this book explores how we might improve society (and ourselves) by better appreciating plants -- not just what they give us, but also how they grow to achieve their own purposes. What would it mean to learn from these organisms, to become more aware of our environments, and to adapt to our own worlds by calling on perception and awareness?

If you are looking for an informative history book on plants and herbs, you should read A History of Herbalism by Emma Kay.

This is a history book looking at people’s relationships with herbs, with a focus on Britain, although the introduction gives an honourable mention to many traditional herbal practices from around the globe and chapter 3 includes recipes from all over the place.

Chapter 1 looks at notable figures in the history of herbalism in Britain, from various midwives to the ubiquitous Nicholas Culpepper. Sometimes it is their work itself that’s discussed, other times it’s their lives or the context in which the work was received. It also covers other related professions like botanical illustration, herb selling and strewing. If you pick up the book for the herbs themselves, this section may be a bit dry, because it’s focused on the history of the people, but I thought it was fascinating.

Chapter 2 moves on to the intersections between medicinal herbalism and magical thinking, as well as chronicling the herbs themselves and the different methods of preparing and using them. It’s very thorough.

Chapter 3 is about food, specifically about the way herb use in cooking has changed over time. It includes lots of historical recipes. However sometimes there was a claim was made about the effects of herb/food that weren’t clarified, so I couldn’t tell if this was a belief from the same time as the recipe, from alternative circles, or backed up by science.

I have only an amateur interest in history, so I cannot judge the quality of the historical investigation (although there are a pleasing number of footnotes and a chunky bibliography, which is a good sign). There were plenty of excerpts from primary sources, which I enjoyed. There were things that niggled however. For example, in a section about early British female herbalists: “Throw in some early medieval misogyny and male-dominated jurisdiction and the Witchcraft Act of 1542 was created.” The 1540s are, at best, in the late Medieval period (if not the Early Modern period) so I don’t know why legislation from then is being attributed to the early medieval, some 500 to 1000 years earlier. I look forward to reviews by actual historians for a critique of the subject matter.