The Jewel House Audiobook By Deborah Harkness cover art

The Jewel House

Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution

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The Jewel House

By: Deborah Harkness
Narrated by: Kate Reading
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Best-selling author Deborah E. Harkness explores the streets, shops, back alleys, and gardens of Elizabethan London, where a boisterous and diverse group of men and women shared a keen interest in the study of nature. These assorted merchants, gardeners, barber-surgeons, midwives, instrument makers, mathematics teachers, engineers, alchemists, and other experimenters, she contends, formed a patchwork scientific community whose practices set the stage for the Scientific Revolution. It was their collaborative, yet often contentious, ethos that helped to develop the ideals of modern scientific research. The Jewel House examines six particularly fascinating episodes of scientific inquiry and dispute in 16th-century London, bringing to life the individuals involved and the challenges they faced. These men and women experimented and invented, argued and competed, waged wars in the press, and struggled to understand the complexities of the natural world. Together, their stories illuminate the blind alleys and surprising twists and turns taken as medieval philosophy gave way to the empirical, experimental culture that became a hallmark of the Scientific Revolution.

©2007 Deborah E. Harkness (P)2014 Tantor 16th Century Europe Great Britain History History & Philosophy Modern Science England Middle Ages Mathematics
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I found this book interesting and eye opening. Ms. Harkness gives a shining new historical perspective on the Elizabethan Scientific Revolution.
it is true that some parts seem disjointed. But given the lengths and depths she went to in order to discover this lost information, it's really not at all surprising. This book is a testimony to the dedication of historical research. I would listen to it again.
Let me also say that it is not a dry read. Full of fun facts, new insights to famous historical figures, discovery of hereto unheard of figures, and funny anecdotes from the time. Really excellent.

Remarkable insights into Elizabethan London

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This is non-fiction, no witches or vampires here, and relates the development of various scientific pursuits in 16th century London. Not gonna lie, it starts kinda slow, lots of unfamiliar names & dates, and the lovely British narration can be soporific. But it picks up, and by the end I was cursing at Francis Bacon and wishing I could return to the crazy streets of 1590s London, to hear the "pratling proud peasants" hawking cures in the market.

Non-fiction about the development of science

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This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I love Deborah's work but this was not what I expected. I couldn't even finish listening. I'm so disappointed.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The historical aspects are interesting. The presentation is so distracting I can't even tell you what I learned.

Any additional comments?

I wish I had read the reviews first. I feel like I wasted a credit.

Not What I Expected

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after reading all souls trilogy, this is not what I expected but I enjoy history so it was a win

not what I expected

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Despite loving the topic, I found this much harder to follow, much less get into, than other science histories that focus on one or a few big names. She starts off saying this book won’t mention big names. It does mention a lot of names, though, most with dates (some of which start with a mysterious “florowit”) that get tedious in audio. As does saying “mathematics” instead of “‘math”.
However, if you can get through the foggy gestalt, the topic is well divided into sections and there is a lot of good information about the time before what most of us think of as the scientific revolution.

Both well structured and meandering

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Very hard to listen to this reader for more than a short time, material is great but the reader is very uninspiring. I found the material more to the scholarly reference book rather than a non-fiction novel. You can see from this material how Deborah was able to use it in creating the Discovery of Witches series of books.

Would you recommend The Jewel House to your friends? Why or why not?

I think that reading the actual hard copy would be better as you could easily skip from part to part as it moves you. Many sections could be quickly skimmed and other read in detail depending on your interests.

Would you be willing to try another one of Kate Reading’s performances?

Based on this book I would not seek out other books read by this reader.

Do you think The Jewel House needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

This presents more like a reference book or a scholarly treatise, so unless Deborah has more research to present, this doesn't need any follow up.

Good Material, Not great presentation

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What was most disappointing about Deborah E. Harkness’s story?

This was not so much a "story" as it was a history book.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"A college lecture on the subject of "The Scientific Community of Historical London."

Any additional comments?

After reading Deborah Harkness series "All Souls" (which I LOVED) I expected this to be another historical fiction based in Elizabethan London which would have both an interesting story line, while also having factual components. I realize it is my fault for not doing more homework on the book, but this is not in fact the kind of book this is. It is truly a review of the "scientific" community of historical London. After reading the description I was expecting a story with multiple character viewpoints from different facets of the "scientific" community, how they interact with each other, and stories about their lives.

I was fairly disappointed as I was looking for a fiction, story-like book and this is more of a book of historical summaries. There is not truly a "story line" so there is nothing to truly get invested in as you listen. I liked the narrator but found my mind wandering a lot. This book is how I would picture a college lecture on the subject of "The Scientific Community of Historical London."

t was not a bad book, per say, it was just definitely not the type of book that I had expected.

Not a bad book, but a misleading description

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What disappointed you about The Jewel House?

I had hoped this would be a story like other Deborah Harkness books - rather it is more like a scholarly dissertation on herbalism during Elizabethan times. If this is what you are interested in, then you will be happy because the book is thorough and well done - but it is not entertaining.

Not What I Expected

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I didn't realize this was going to be an educational piece. it's definitely informative but it is so dry. I thought it was going to be more like a story but it is not.

an educational piece

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When you don’t read a description of the book before you buy, you may be surprised. I really enjoyed Deborah Harkness previous trilogy and I got this book because of the authors’ name. It was definitely different! It is well written and well researched, but for me, it was a snooze. The level of detail, was tremendous. I would recommend it for those readers who want the backstory.

Not What I Expected

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