Hope to conceive a boy? Tie a tourniquet around your husband's left testicle. Pregnant and fear a weak or malformed baby? Frequent hearty laughter should reduce the risk. And if you're a teenager of good repute, avoid dancing at all costs and stay away from wine, cosmetics, and flashy dress, too. What may seem quirky to today's readers certainly wasn't to its original audience - Renaissance Italians.

They read advice manuals prodigiously, seeking guidance from the latest books by bestselling alchemists and snake-oil peddlers like Mrs. Isabella Cortese and Dr. Leonardo Fioravanti with an avidity not bestowed even on a Dante or a Machiavelli. How to Do It shows us sixteenth-century Italy from an entirely new perspective: through manuals which were staples in the households of middlebrow Italians just trying to lead better lives.