Traditional treatments from mustard poultices to rosehip syrup

Grandma's Remedies

A beautifully illustrated guide to the recipes and treatments that have preserved family health for generations

For many years, Cherry Chappell has been a public relations practitioner and writer in the fields of health and wellbeing, covering both orthodox and complementary medicine. She lives in London and Cornwall. Her other books include Minding Your Own Business: Survival Strategies for Starting Up on Your Own, How to Write Better Letters and Perfect Wedding Planning.

To treat a cold sore: 
As soon as the first symptoms are detected, put honey on the affected part of the lip. 
 
To cure toothache: 
Make a plug of cotton wool, soak it in whisky and apply it to the troublesome tooth. 
 
For fainting: 
Chop an onion and persuade the patient to inhale the fumes until tears come. 
 
Grandma's Remedies is an endlessly fascinating collection of traditional cures and treatments for everything from acne to wasp stings. Many are surprisingly effective, and all of them paint a vivid picture of the world of our grandparents and great-grandparents, where resourceful and inventive women were the guardians of family health. 
 
If you're intrigued by the traditional and natural approach to healthcare, if you've ever wondered how to make a poultice or a tincture, or even if you just want to find out about the more domestic side of history, Grandma's Remedies is interesting - and enlightening - reading.

A Guide to Traditional Cures and Treatments from Mustard Poultices to Rosehip Syrup

For many years, Cherry Chappell has been a public relations practitioner and writer in the fields of health and wellbeing, covering both orthodox and complementary medicine. She lives in London and Cornwall. Her other books include Minding Your Own Business: Survival Strategies for Starting Up on Your Own, Writing Better Letters and Perfect Wedding Planning.

Long before modern medicines became so widely available, families treated everyday illnesses with home-made remedies. Reused and refined year after year, they were handed down through the generations then lovingly copied into personal 'receipt' books. Grandma's Remedies brings together a beguiling collection of them, gathered from dusty medicine chests found in attics, recalled from childhoods long past, or discovered in family archives and libraries. 
 
Many of them are surprisingly effective. Did you know, for example, that drinking two cups of strong black coffee will alleviate an asthma attack? Or that chewing toasted fennel seeds will help combat indigestion? Or that rosehip syrup is a terrific source of vitamin C? 
 
But Grandma's Remedies is more than a guide to these traditional treatments, it also paints a vivid portrait of the world of our grandparents and great-grandparents. It shows how inventive and resourceful they were with the materials near to hand, how they made the most of everything in the store-cupboard, from bread through to vinegar, and how it was the women of the household who, despite being barred from the medical profession, were relied on to safeguard family health. 
 
In these days of antibiotics and painkillers, it's easy to forget how people survived when all they had to rely on was a garden, a larder and a healthy dose of common sense.

Penguin Writers' Guides: How to Write Better Letters

Covers everything from how to set out invitations to what you can and can't say in job references.

Cherry Chappell is a public relations consultant and author of Minding Your Own Business: Survival Strategies for Starting Up on Your Own. She lives in London.

The Penguin Writers' Guides series provides authoritative, succinct and easy-to-follow guidance on specific aspects of written English. Whether you need to brush up your skills or get to grips with something for the first time, these invaluable Guides will help you find the best way to get your message across clearly and effectively. 
 
A simple and practical guide, How to Write Better Letters explains how to write a wide range of letters, from invitations and letters of condolence to practical correspondence including complaints, job applications, letters of resignation and those trying to raise sponsorship. Drawing on advice from a variety of experts and containing many authentic letters as examples, this guide also details the appropriate title to give any correspondent, outlines common mistakes in spelling and grammar, and provides essential tips on matters such as setting the correct tone when writing emails.

Cherry Chappell

Perfect Wedding Planning is an indispensable guide to every aspect of arranging and coordinating the wedding you've always wished for. Covering everything from booking the caterers to choosing the wedding favours, it walks you through exactly what you need to do and gives great advice about how to realise your dream without breaking the bank. With checklists to make sure you have everything covered, specialist tips from florists and photographers, and a unique chapter on getting married abroad, Perfect Wedding Planning has all you need to make your special day memorable and magical. 
 
The Perfect series is a range of practical guides that give clear and straightforward advice on everything from getting your first job to choosing your baby's name. Written by experienced authors offering tried-and-tested tips, each book contains all you need to get it right first time.

Cherry Chappell

Books by Cherry Chappell

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