| If something is
described as an “old wives’ tale” it usually
means it should be taken with a pinch of salt. But those old
wives knew a thing or two and passed their wisdom down through
the ages. In this book are many remedies, practical advice
and folklore as well as related trivia. As the introduction
points out, the old wives of yesteryear had to be pretty tough
to survive and their observances and cures show how they made
sense of a bewildering world, and often thrived in it.
People are still people and it is only a few centuries since
these remedies and methods were in everyday use. The book
is divided into two sections, namely health and home/garden.
Within these broad headings, the chapters relate to various
topics, such as maladies and ways of doing things like cleaning,
getting rid of pests, predicting weather and gardening. Each
short chapter will contain something like a recipe to try
(or not), plus a discussion of how things were done back then
and often a related historical tale. There are also descriptions
of how not to do things (we have come on a bit since then
after all) and plenty of the type of social history that makes
for entertaining and illuminating reading. Discover how common
ailments were treated in the past, and read about some alternative
ways of cleaning ovens, removing stains, making air fresheners,
old recipes such as frumenty and gruel, compost and weed killer.
As many of the modern versions of pest killers and air fresheners
contain harmful chemicals, it is highly useful to read about
some that won’t damage the environment. This had to
be my own favorite part of what is an enjoyable look at how
the wisdom of the past it often still valid today.
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