About History That Rattles
Sharply surprising. Darkly illuminating. Deeply unsettling.
Forget crowns and conquests: history was really written by rats, plagues, mothers, and ordinary people just trying to survive the winter.
Historian Barbora Jirincová, PhD, reveals the strange and unsettling truths that shaped our world — from plague doctors and falcons-for-rent to the fashionable tragedy of tuberculosis. These stories aren’t comedy, though some are absurd; they are glimpses of how real people endured hunger, fear, faith, and medicine that often did more harm than good.
Inside, you’ll encounter:
Knights paying their rent in a single falcon.
Peasants freezing in the Little Ice Age while witch hunters warmed their hands.
Surgeons racing against the clock of their patients’ screams.
Myths and legends that refuse to die — even on the silver screen.
From Kyiv in flames to Cold War catwalks, History That Rattles uncovers the unsettling, often forgotten side of the past — and reminds us that history has always belonged less to emperors than to everyone else.
Both unsettling and illuminating, History That Rattles uncovers the strange truths behind our myths — and reminds us that humanity’s story has always belonged not to emperors, but to everyone else.
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Author Bio:
Barbora Jiřincová is not the kind of historian who buries herself in dusty archives and leaves it at that. She believes history is alive — a collection of stories that once changed everything and still shape our lives today.
That is why she tells the essential stories.
There are stories of things that changed everything, yet we take them for granted, not realizing that our civilization would fall apart without them.
Like electricity, cars, effective treatment of diseases, or afterbirth childcare.
But first and foremost, she knows history is fun. Because the stories that mattered rattle our minds and read better than the textbooks!
Thus, she strives to give voice to people of the past, to show their minds so that they win our hearts.
Her story?
Born in 1986, she grew up in the tumultuous 1990s.
Then, businesses grew, money flew, and the nation slowly got used to freedom and democracy after 50 years of Communism.
However, as her country’s journey to absolute freedom was difficult, she struggled to become a professional writer.
Finishing her first book at nine, she soon gave up her writing career. She found a reasonable one, becoming a historian.
In 2019, she earned her Ph.D. in history.
After 5 years, she reached her goal. And with a sense of horror, she realized that she had never dreamt beyond getting the degree.
As 2020 revealed to us all that nothing is certain, she had to learn new things. We all did. And she discovered that contrary to what she thought, real writers didn’t starve. She focused on more creative writing, wrote for magazines like The Collector, and started writing books.
Finally, in 2021, she set on a journey that would lead her here: to becoming a professional author who shares her stories with the world.
SOME REVIEWS:
⭐ "Great storyteller with a brilliant sense of humor."
Alice Bennet, Editor, The Collector
⭐ "Jiřincová's book brings to life the princely characters of medieval Slavic books and manuscripts, exploring Slavic folklore through custom, material culture, and oral culture."
Dr. Alexandra Vukovich, Assistant Professor at King's College London