{"product_id":"how-to-do-it-guides-to-good-living-for-renaissance-italians-paperback","title":"How to Do It: Guides to Good Living for Renaissance Italians - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRudolph M. Bell\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHow to Do It\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Lively and curious reading, particularly in its cascade of anecdote, offered in a breezy, cozy, journalistic style.\" -Lauro Martines, \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"[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, \u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"An extraordinary work which blends the learned with the frankly bizarre.\" -\u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"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, \u003ci\u003eDaily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHow to Do It\u003c\/i\u003e shows us sixteenth-century Italy from an entirely new perspective: through manuals that were staples in the households of middlebrow Italians merely trying to lead better lives. Addressing various challenges such as how to conceive a boy, or what to do should you want to goad female (or male) desires, these booklets give us a refreshing and fun social history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRudolph M. Bell\u003c\/b\u003e is a professor of history at Rutgers University. His previous books include \u003ci\u003eSaints and Society: The Two Worlds of Western Christendom, 1000-1700\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHoly Anorexia\u003c\/i\u003e, both published by the University of Chicago Press.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 389\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 8.9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 01, 2000\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42039178526800,"sku":"9780226042008","price":57.4,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0592\/9540\/0016\/files\/SmtZTWpYNVNmWUdwVU1MYnhmM2V2QT09.webp?v=1771841380","url":"https:\/\/palm-malen-gift-shop-pmrc.myshopify.com\/products\/how-to-do-it-guides-to-good-living-for-renaissance-italians-paperback","provider":"Palm Malen Gift Shop -PMRC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}