Evelyn Waugh was born in Hampstead in 1903 and educated at Hertford College, Oxford. In 1928 he published his first novel, Decline and Fall, which was soon followed by Vile Bodies (1930), Black Mischief (1932), A Handful of Dust (1934) and Scoop (1938). During these years he also travelled extensively and converted to Catholicism. In 1939 Waugh was commissioned in the Royal Marines and later transferred to the Royal Horse Guards, experiences which informed his Sword of Honour trilogy (1952-61). His most famous novel, Brideshead Revisited (1945), was written while on leave from the army. Waugh died in 1966.

Evelyn Waugh

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Bill Bryson

An anthology of BBC Radio documentaries featuring the bestselling author 
 
Bill Bryson is the world's funniest travel writer, and a master of comic observation. His hugely popular books, spanning topics from linguistics to Shakespeare to the human body, have sold over 16 million copies and been translated into 30 languages, and his 2003 science book A Short History of Nearly Everything won the prestigious Aventis and Descartes prizes. 
 
This sparkling collection features seven BBC Radio programmes that collectively illuminate his personal passions. In The Art of Travel, he talks to Annette Kobak about his memorable journeys around the USA; while in the 6-part series Divided by a Common Language, he scours American history in an attempt to find out why Americans talk and behave differently from British people. Journeys in English, based on his acclaimed book Mother Tongue, sees him romping through the history of Britain in six episodes, to reveal how English became the complex yet world-beating language it is today. 
 
Ramblings: Windsor Great Park finds Bill heading out across the royal park in the company of Clare Balding, as he discusses his love for walking and exploring. As a castaway on Desert Island Discs, he shares the soundtrack of his life with Sue Lawley; and in With Great Pleasure, he selects some of his favourite writing, including Evelyn Waugh's Scoop, a Hardy Boys classic and Three Men in a Boat. Finally, in Bookclub, he chats to James Naughtie and an audience of readers about A Short History of Nearly Everything. 
 
Contents 
 
The Art of Travel: Bill Bryson 
Divided by a Common Language 
Journeys in English 
Ramblings: Windsor Great Park with Bill Bryson 
Desert Island Discs: Bill Bryson 
With Great Pleasure: Bill Bryson 
Bookclub: Bill Bryson 
 
Production credits 
 
The Art of Travel: Bill Bryson 
Presented by Annette Kobak 
Produced by Kate McAII 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 27 January 1991 
 
Divided by a Common Language 
Presented by Bill Bryson 
Produced by Brian King 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 July-2 September 1995 
 
Journeys in English 
Written and presented by Bill Bryson 
Produced by Brian King 
 
First broadcast as Mother Tongue on BBC Radio 4, 13 December 1997-17 January 1998 
 
Ramblings: Windsor Great Park with Bill Bryson 
Presented by Clare Balding 
Produced by Lucy Lunt 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 24 September 2015 
 
Desert Island Discs: Bill Bryson 
Presented by Sue Lawley 
Produced by Angie Nehring 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 31 January 1999 
 
With Great Pleasure: Bill Bryson 
Readers: Kerry Shale and Bill Wallis 
Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 September 1999 
 
Bookclub: Bill Bryson 
Presented by James Naughtie 
Produced by Dymphna Flynn 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 February 2005 
 
©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Bill Bryson BBC Radio Collection

Divided by a Common Language, Journeys in English and more

Neil Johnson

In these pages you will discover words you never knew existed, and rediscover many that you had forgotten or had given up all hope of ever seeing again. 
 
If the amoindering of our language by fifish chuffs leads you to fleer and the infandous overslipping of orthoepy makes you feel wamble, this is most certainly the book for you. 
 
Prepare to fike, gane and gaure as Dr Johnson certiorates, carrying carotic catachresis to new heights, and providing all lovers of leguleian lexicographical detail with a rich feast of mullock, cultch and peltry.

Dr Johnson's Reliquary of Rediscovered Words

Albert Jack

The English language is crammed with colourful phrases and sayings that we use without thinking every day. It's only when we're asked who smart Alec or Holy Moly were, where feeling in the pink or once in a blue moon come from, or even what letting the cat out of the bag really means that we realize that there's far more to English than we might have thought. 
 
Luckily enough, we now have Albert Jack. And rather than resting on his laurels after the enormous success of Red Herrings and White Elephants, he has continued his search around the world, exploring the origins of hundreds more phrases. The fascinating stories he has uncovered come from the rich traditions of the navy, army and law to confidence tricksters and highwaymen, from the practices of ancient civilizations to Music Hall and pubs. Determined to chase each shaggy dog story to the bitter end, his discoveries are even stranger and more memorable this time round. 
 
Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep is a compulsively readable, highly enlightening look at the phrases we use all the time but rarely consider. From the skin of your teeth to the graveyard shift - you'll never speak (or even think) English in the same way again.

Shaggy Dogs and Black Sheep

The Origins of Even More Phrases We Use Every Day

Joanne Greenberg

<a href="https://shop.penguin.co.uk/collections/book-bundles-modern-classics/?&amp;utm_source=Penguin.co.uk&amp;utm_medium=Linked_text&amp;utm_campaign=Penguin_Modern_Classics_Series_26_06">Choose 3 timeless classics for only £21 over on the Penguin Shop</a>

Two young deaf people, Abel and Janice, leave their punitive school and begin their life as a married couple &lsquo;Outside&rsquo; &ndash; in the unwelcoming world of the hearing. A misunderstanding about the payment plan on a car kickstarts years of debt, hard labour and ostracization; but they find solace and expression in the richness of Sign, in their hard-won independence and in the birth of their daughter Margaret. 
 
First published in 1970, only a decade after ASL&rsquo;s formal recognition as a language, In This Sign is a rare, compassionate portrait of the deaf community and a moving family saga that spans the twentieth century. 
 
With an introduction by Sara Novic and a new afterword by the author.

In This Sign

Zadie Smith

'Married five times. Mother. Lover. Aunt. Friend. 
She plays many roles round here. And never 
Scared to tell the whole of her truth, whether 
Or not anyone wants to hear it. Wife 
Of Willesden: pissed enough to tell her life 
Story to whoever has ears and eyes...' 
 
Zadie Smith's first play is a joyous re-imagining of Chaucer's classic, The Wife of Bath's Tale. As the crowd in a small pub on the Kilburn High Road stand up to share their stories, the Wife of Willesden is not afraid to bare it all...

The Wife of Willesden

Did you know that an assassin is a hashish-eater and a yokel a country woodpecker? 
 
That Dr Mesmer mesmerised patients back to health or that Samuel Pepys enjoyed a good game of handicap? 
 
While we're at it, what have spondulics to do with spines or lawyers with avocados? 
 
In It's a Wonderful Word, bestselling author Albert Jack collects over 500 of the strangest, funniest-sounding and most delightful words in the English language, and traces them back to their often puzzling origins. While brushing up on your gibberish or gobbledygook, discover why bastards should resent travelling salesmen, why sheets should remain on tenterhooks and why you should never set down a tumbler before finishing your drink. 
 
From blotto to bamboozle and from claptrap to quango, Albert Jack's addictive anecdotes bring the world's most colourful language to life and are guaranteed to surprise and entertain.

It's a Wonderful Word

The Real Origins of Our Favourite Words

The English Project

With an afterword by David Crystal and contributions from Philip Pullman, Jilly Cooper, Jeremy Vine and Meera Syal, all life is here. Become part of the Kitchen Table Lingo community and write your words in now! 
 
'Seen the bloke with the bedooftey bum?' 
 
'More testiculating on Newsnight......' 
 
Does it sometimes seem like your family speaks its own language? 
 
Families up and down the UK have their own special vocabularies. Discover tinsellitis sufferers in Tunbridge Wells, elephant users in Edinburgh and chobblers in Cardiff. Whether it's a slip of the tongue that becomes a permanent part of the family vernacular or a word invented when all others fail, Kitchen Table Lingo is part of what makes our language so rich and creative. This collection of hundreds of words from English speakers around the world - complete with space and an invitation to add your own - is a wonderfully entertaining celebration of the spoken word and the people who take pleasure in it. 
 
After all, what other language has fifty-seven words for the TV remote control?

Kitchen Table Lingo

Henrik Ibsen

With her assertion that she is 'first and foremost a human being', rather than a wife, mother or fragile doll, Nora Helmer sent shockwaves throughout Europe when she appeared in Ibsen's greatest and most famous play, A Doll's House. Ibsen's follow-up Ghosts was no less radical, with its unrelenting investigation into religious hypocrisy, family secrets and sexual double-dealing. These two masterpieces are accompanied here by The Pillars of the Community and An Enemy of the People, both exploring the tensions and dark compromises at the heart of society.

A Doll's House and Other Plays

Yomi Sode

In poems exploring family, survival, generational trauma and the complexities of belonging, Manorism is an examination of the lives of Black British men and boys. At the heart of the book is the ongoing pressure of code-switching - changing one's behaviour and language to suit radically different cultural contexts and environments. The violence of artists such as Caravaggio in seventeenth-century Rome and modern-day commentary by the likes of David Starkey and Piers Morgan provide a lens for considering differences of impunity afforded to white and Black people. Snippets of Yoruba interweave with English, and a moving final sequence - adapted for the Almeida stage in June 2021 to glowing reviews from the Guardian, Time Out and others - charts the dramatic reconciliations surrounding a death in the family. The result is a thrillingly original book that charts the vulnerabilities and rich nuances of Black masculinity in Britain.

Manorism

Nora Ephron

‘A woman for all seasons, tender and tough in just the right proportions’ 
The New York Times 
 
Two classic collections of uproarious essays from the late Nora Ephron, bestselling author of I Feel Bad About My Neck and I Remember Nothing. Here she tackles everything from feminism to the media, from politics to beauty products, with her inimitable charm and distinctive wit. 
 
From her Academy Award-nominated screenplays (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, Julie &amp; Julia) to her bestselling fiction and essays, Nora Ephron illuminated her era with wicked honesty and insight. 
 
This collection brings together some of Ephron’s most famous writing on a generation of women (and men) who helped shape the way we live now, and on significant modern-day events. In these sharp, hilariously entertaining and vividly observed essays, from the famous ‘A Few Words About Breasts’ to important pieces on her time working for newspapers and magazines, this is Ephron at her very best.

Crazy Salad & Scribble Scribble (An Omnibus)

Benjamin Dreyer

'An utterly delightful book to read, Dreyer's English will stand among the classics on how to use the English language properly.' ELIZABETH STROUT 
 
'A complete joy. For those who care about words - and for those who don't - Dreyer's English is the book we have all been waiting for. Wise, funny, no-nonsense, stylish and brilliantly practical.' RACHEL JOYCE 
_____________ 
An indispensable, New York Times-bestselling guide to the craft of writing from Random House's long-time copy chief and one of Twitter's leading language gurus. 
 
We all write, all the time: books, blogs, tweets, emails, emails, emails - and we all want to write better. Benjamin Dreyer is here to help. 
 
As copy chief of Random House, Dreyer has upheld the standards of the legendary publisher for more than two decades. He is beloved by authors and editors alike - not to mention his followers on social media - for playfully, brilliantly deconstructing the English language. Dreyer's English is the distillation of everything he has learned from copyediting thousands of books, the perfect guide not just for writers but for everyone who wants to put their best prose foot forward. 
 
Both authoritative and amusing, Dreyer's English offers lessons on punctuation, from the underloved semicolon to the enigmatic en-dash; the rules and non-rules of grammar, including why it's OK to begin a sentence with 'And' or 'But' and to confidently split an infinitive; and why it's best to avoid the doldrums of the Wan Intensifiers and Throat Clearers, including 'very', 'rather', 'of course', and the dreaded 'actually'. 
 
And yes: 'Only godless savages eschew the Oxford comma.' 
 
Stuffed with advice, insider wisdom, and fun facts, this book will prove to be invaluable to everyone who wants to shore up their writing skills, mandatory for people who spend their time editing and shaping other people's prose, and - perhaps best of all - an utter treat for anyone who simply revels in language. 
_____________ 
This book is written in British English. 
_____________ 
'Benjamin Dreyer's brilliant, pithy, incandescently intelligent book is to contemporary writing what Geoffrey Chaucer's poetry was to medieval English: a gift that broadens and deepens the art and the science of literature' JON MEACHAM 
 
'A fascinating guide to grammatical 'rights' and 'wrongs' - practical and useful' SEBASTIAN FAULKS, SUNDAY TIMES 
 
'A pleasing read for anyone who has an appreciation for the written word.' TIME MAGAZINE, BEST 10 NON-FICTION BOOKS OF 2019 
 
'Witty and piquant [...] full of jokes - and equally full of deliciously deprecating footnotes.' JEWISH CHRONICLE 
 
'Playful, smart, self-conscious, and personal . . . One encounters wisdom and good sense on nearly every page of Dreyer's English.' WALL STREET JOURNAL 
 
'A mind-blower--sure to jumpstart any writing project, just by exposing you, the writer, to Dreyer's astonishing level of sentence-awareness.' GEORGE SAUNDERS, author of Lincoln in the Bardo 
 
'Benjamin Dreyer is wise and bitterly experienced and fantastically good company. You should buy his book and read it.' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT 
 
'Boisterously well written ... I recommend it highly.' INDEPENDENT 
 
'Dreyer promises to reveal "some of the fancy little tricks I've come across or devised that can make even skilled writing better", and does so with accuracy, style, and humour' GUARDIAN 
 
'This work is that rare writing handbook that writers might actually want to read straight through, rather than simply consult.' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style

The UK Edition

‘Nora Ephron can write about anything better than anybody else can write about anything’ 
New York Times 
 
A bitingly funny, provocative and revealing look at our foibles, passions and pastimes – from the much-missed, bestselling author of I Feel Bad About My Neck and I Remember Nothing. 
 
From her Academy Award-nominated screenplays (When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, Julie &amp; Julia) to her bestselling fiction and essays, Nora Ephron was one of the most gifted, prolific and versatile writers of our time. 
 
In this classic collection of magazine articles, Ephron does what she does best: embrace culture with love, cynicism and unmatched wit. 
 
From tracking down the beginnings of the self-help movement, to dressing down the fashion world’s most powerful publication, to capturing a glimpse of a legendary movie in the making, these timeless pieces tap into our enduring obsessions with celebrity, food, romance, clothes, entertainment and sex. Whether casting her ingenious eye on public figures or herself, Ephron deftly weaves her journalistic skill with the intimate style of an essayist and the incomparable talent of a great storyteller.

Wallflower at the Orgy

Philip Dodd

What is the connection between a rather unflattering item of clothing and the French trapeze artist Jules Léotard? Which filling did the Earl of Sandwich opt for when he made his great culinary invention? And was there really a Sir Oswald Binge whose week-long feasts were notorious for their excess? 
The Reverend Guppy's Aquarium answers these and many other questions drawn from the remoter corners of the English language, exploring the lives of an extraordinarily diverse range of people who happen to have one thing in common: by chance or deliberately, they have left their names deeply embedded in the language and consciousness of future generations. Each figure has something to tell us about a moment in history, or a discovery or invention, whether it's László Biró and his pioneering writing implement, or Étienne de Silhouette who, having fallen from grace at the French court, spent much of the later part of his life mournfully cutting out paper shapes. Not to mention the Reverend Robert Lechmere Guppy, fish-discoverer extraordinaire. 
Each life in The Reverend Guppy's Aquarium is quirky and often bizarre. Few of them would merit a footnote, let alone an entry, in the history books. But they all reveal that the prospect of immortality is only a fluke away. In an age of instant 15-minute celebrity, that's a reassuring thought.

The Reverend Guppy's Aquarium

How Jules Leotard, Adolphe Sax, Roy Jacuzzi and co. immortalised their names in the dictionary

Iris Gower

Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin, this is the emotional third instalment in The Cordwainers series by bestselling author Iris Gower. 
 
READERS ARE LOVING THE CORDWAINERS! 
"I have really enjoyed reading this whole series...I would recommend the reading of any of the books by this author." - 5 STARS 
"Loved these books [-] definitely recommend this series: once you start you will want to read them all" - 5 STARS 
"One not to miss..." - 5 STARS 
"Yet another brilliant Iris Gower book..."-5 STARS 
"You finish one book and you just have to start the next one." - 5 STARS 
 
************************************************************* 
 
CAN SHE OVERCOME THE PERILS FACING HER AND WIN THE HEART OF THE MAN SHE LOVES? 
 
Fon Parks isn't surprised when farmer Jamie O'Conner asked her to marry him - he trusted her and could rely on her: she had nursed his wife until her death and knew his son and the ways of Honey's Farm. 
 
She adores Jamie, but her love is unrequited. 
 
When the future of the farm is threated by people who want to destroy Jamie and his wife, she determines, with the support of her friend Eline Harries, to take action, stand strong against the dangers confronting her and earn the love of her husband. 
 
Honey's Farm is the third title in Iris Gower's Cordwainers series. Have you read The Shoemaker's Daughter and The Oyster Catchers, the previous two books?

Honey's Farm (The Cordwainers: 3)

An absolutely heart-wrenching Welsh saga that will have you gripped...

Mary Jane Staples

A heart-warming Cockney saga from multi-million copy seller Mary Jane Staples. Perfect for fans of Maggie Ford, Kitty Neale and Katie Flynn. You won't be able to put it down! 
 
READERS ARE LOVING SERGEANT JOE! 
"Another fun read with some surprising twists and turns" - 5 STARS 
"A lovely story, and so funny I couldn't help but burst out laughing at times" - 5 STARS 
"Excellent read" - 5 STARS 
"A brilliant book...Mary Jane Staples brings her characters to life! Excellent!" - 5 STARS 
"Awesome - a lovely fun read" - 5 STARS 
 
*********************************************************************** 
SHE'LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO KEEP HER FAMILY SAFE FROM HARM... 
 
Everyone likes Sergeant Joe. From the family with whom he has lodgings to the bookseller who employs him in a little lucrative and harmless forgery. He is a universal favourite. 
 
When he bumps into Dolly Smith - quite literally - he meets a girl who makes quite an impression on him. Dolly is quick, lively, and full of cockney cheek. She is also a little frightened - running from a vicious-looking thug and a sinister foreigner who seem to think she has stolen something valuable. 
 
When Joe takes Dolly under his wing he thinks he is just helping her in a momentary predicament. Little does he know his life is going to change forever... For Dolly, bewitching and beguiling - is involved in something quite dangerous...

Sergeant Joe

a delightfully moving, amusing and uplifting Cockney saga that will warm the cockles of your heart

Alex Games

Balderdash &amp; Piffle: One Sandwich Short of a Dog's Dinner is a thrilling ride through the provocative, bewildering and often downright bizarre world of language and etymology. From the brash jargon of celebrity magazines to the delicacies and feints of the euphemism, author and word-sleuth Alex Games has uncovered the remarkable stories that lie behind some of our best-loved words and expressions. 
 
By grouping words into distinct themes - such as put downs and insults, the vocab of fashionistas and the lingo of dodgy dealings - Balderdash &amp; Piffle looks at the English language in a fresh and revealing light. 
 
Who was the original Jack the Lad? What is the tragic story behind the expression Sweet F.A.? Balderdash &amp; Piffle will show you where thugs come from, why 'barmy' once had more to do with your beer than your brain, and how a little bit of 'hanky-panky' could literally work magic. From the 'Cloud-cuckoo-land' of Aristophanes to the town of Balaclava, this is a funny but rigorously researched account of English words and their origins. 
 
Drawing together sources as diverse as William Shakespeare, David Cameron and the Burnham-on-Sea Gazette, Alex Games recalls the trends, innovations and scandals that have produced some of our most familiar but least explored words and phrases. Accompanying a brand new series of the hit BBC television programme Balderdash &amp; Piffle - and containing all the results of the 'Wordhunt' from the first series -this entertaining book is a treasure trove for English-language lovers everywhere.

Balderdash & Piffle: One Sandwich Short of a Dog's Dinner

Ambrose Bierce

An incomparable satirist, Ambrose Bierce became the &quot;laughing devil&quot; of the San Francisco news media, for he was about as discreet as a runaway locomotive, according to H.L.Mencken, and nowhere are his uninhibited irony and gift for verse parody more in evidence than in this &quot;dictionary&quot;.

The Enlarged Devil's Dictionary

Perfect for fans of Dilly Court and Rosie Goodwin, this is the powerful next instalment of the Cordwainers series from bestselling author Iris Gower. 
 
READERS ARE LOVING THE CORDWAINERS! 
"I have really enjoyed reading this whole series...I would recommend the reading of any of the books by this author." - 5 STARS 
"Loved these books [-] definitely recommend this series: once you start you will want to read them all" - 5 STARS 
"You finish one book and you just have to start the next one." - 5 STARS 
"The best book I've read in a long time..."-Reader review 
"A great read - hard to put down" - 5 STARS 
 
************************************************ 
 
WILL SHE CHOOSE PRISON OR A LOVELESS MARRIAGE? 
 
Arian - spirited and unconventional - had always shocked the residents of World's End with her wild behaviour. As she begins to make a name for herself in the leather and shoe-making trade, she is overjoyed when the intriguing and charismatic Calvin Temple decides to back her. Yet this backing proves disastrous when her venture with a French company fails and it looks as though all their money will be lost. 
 
When Arian sets out for France in desperation to try to salvage their investment, she falls foul of the law and is given a grim alternative to prison - a loveless marriage with a man she despises. 
 
Will she ever be able to find fulfilment with the man she loves, or will she be forced to face a life sentence of unhappiness? 
 
Arian is the fourth title in Iris Gower's Cordwainers series. Have you read The Shoemaker's Daughter, The Oyster Catchers and Honey's Farm, the previous three titles?

Arian (The Cordwainers: 4)

A heartbreaking and emotional Welsh saga you won’t be able to put down...

Alan Connor

‘Alan knows everything, knows everyone, and writes beautifully too.’ 
RICHARD OSMAN 
 
‘The man with the contents of the Oxford English Dictionary stored just above his left eyebrow … and he’s quite funny too.’ 
RORY CELLAN-JONES 
 
'A gorgeous, funny tour of the British Isles as seen from the clouds.’ 
KONNIE HUQ 
 
 
For fans of THE ETYMOLOGICON and VERY BRITISH PROBLEMS, a delightfully damp tour of the British Isles. 
 
 
Mizzle. Dreich. Raining knives and forks. A real mugga-fisty. A spot of plother... 
 
We Brits love talking about the weather. So much so that our islands have hundreds of words and phrases for rain, some self-explanatory and others that really leave us scratching our heads. From a light smirr in Aberdeen to a "it's raining knives and forks!" in the Brecon Beacons, each type of rain tells a story about the people and places it falls on. 
 
In this delightfully damp tour of the British Isles, writer and puddle-splasher Alan Connor digs deep into the meaning and quirky histories of over one hundred words for precipitation. He gets caught in a plash in Northumberland, crashes a fox's wedding in Devon and ponders the phenomenon of Brits-who-picnic-in-the-car, in this charming and witty celebration of our very British obsession.

188 Words for Rain

A delightfully damp tour of the British Isles, led by natural forces (an official BBC Weather book)

Ruth Hamilton

This emotional and uplifting saga full of twists and turns by the Sunday Times bestselling author Ruth Hamilton is a must - read for fans of Catherine Cookson, Dilly Court and Josephine Cox. 
 
"I believe that Ruth Hamilton is very much the successor to Catherine Cookson. Her books are plot driven, they just rip along; laughs, weeps, love, they've got the lot, and they're quality writing as well" -- SARAH BROADHURST, RADIO FOUR 
 
"Read this book several times now. Can't put it down. Keep going back to it." -- ***** Reader review 
 
"Love Ruth Hamilton books. Always a good read." -- ***** Reader review 
 
"Enjoyed the book very much, just couldn't put it down." -- ***** Reader review 
 
************************************************************************ 
CAN SHE FIND THE COURAGE SHE NEEDS? 
 
Kate Murray's father had never forgiven her for being born a girl: scrawny, red-haired, under-weight, and the last child his wife would bear, his hatred for his younger child was intense. 
 
 Growing up in a world of constant rejection and seeing the way her Lancashire 'respectable poor' family tried to hide the cracks of a bad and violent marriage, she determined to find a life - a world where she was loved, was successful and where people were proud of her. 
 
Will she find the courage and fortitude she needs to become the woman she wants to be - successful, warm, forgiving, and able to give the love she had so lacked in her own life?

Nest Of Sorrows

a wonderfully heart-wrenching and ultimately uplifting saga set in Lancashire from bestselling author Ruth Hamilton

Keith Houston

Where does the ampersand get its name from? What does the hashtag have to do with commerce in ancient Rome? Keith Houston gives the answers in this delightfully entertaining book. 
 
From the pilcrow ¶ to the ampersand, the entire cast of Shady Characters reflects the changes in written communication through the ages, charting how punctuation has adapted to each new technological innovation. Together, these shady characters form a rich, entertaining and surprising history of the written word and our ongoing attempts to shape it. 
 
'Engaging typographical journeys . . . Houston brings to life a history of ingenuity and imagination' The Times 
 
'Entertaining, informative, a must-read. If ever a book deserved its hardbacked, reverse-embossed, lavishly illustrated, thick white heavy paper incarnation, and a place on an actual bookshelf, it is Shady Characters' Guardian 
 
'Houston brings considerable wit to the 5,000-year-old enigma of how we attempt to communicate our thoughts through visible signs . . . Shady Characters might make you look at books - in print or online - in an entirely new way' Nature 
 
'Refreshing . . . the stories he uncovers along the way are fascinating' Telegraph 
 
'Ventures into the previously untrodden history of punctuation marks . . . scholarly, highly readable' Spectator 
 
Keith Houston is the founder of ShadyCharacters.co.uk, where he writes about the unusual stories behind some well-known - and some rather more outlandish - marks of punctuation.

Shady Characters

Ampersands, Interrobangs and other Typographical Curiosities

Julia Cresswell

A fascinating, thematic exploration of clich&eacute;s from as the actress said to the bishop to zero hour, explaining what they are and where they&rsquo;ve come from. Julia Cresswell has taken her best-selling dictionary of clich&eacute;s (&lsquo;Sumptuous&hellip; A mine of information.&rsquo; Guardian) back to the drawing board and has created a book, packed with famous (and infamous) quotations and memorable information, that will change the way you see English.

The Cat's Pyjamas

The Penguin Book of Clichés

Ammon Shea

Ammon Shea was ten when he first discovered the joy of reading a dictionary rather than using it to look a word up. Little did he imagine that one day he would spend over $1,000 and sacrifice an entire bookcase and a whole year to the twenty volumes that make up the king of all reference books: The Oxford English Dictionary. 
 
It was a year that changed his life, not least when he fell in love with a lexicographer. In this hilarious, personal and fascinating book, with a chapter for each letter of the alphabet, Shea introduces us to hundreds of words he discovered that deserve to see the light of day again, and explains why. Want to know the word for the area on your back that you can't reach to scratch (acnestis)? Or the term for the smell of earth just after a rainstorm (petrichor)? Or perhaps you're just looking for the word to describe that feeling of saying enough (satisdiction). This book is all you need.

Satisdiction

One Man's Journey Into All The Words He'll Ever Need

Samantha Ellis

'An optimistic and wryly funny book... rich with insights' OBSERVER 
'I couldn’t put it down’ RUKMINI IYER 
‘I loved this book so much... Think: The Body Keeps the Score in practice not theory’ ELLA RISBRIDGER 
 
Samantha’s mother tongue is dying out. An urgent need to find out more becomes an expansive investigation into how to keep hold of her culture – and when to let it go 
 
The daughter of Iraqi Jewish refugees, Samantha grew up surrounded by the noisy, vivid, hot sounds of Judeo-Iraqi Arabic. A language that’s now on the verge of extinction. 
 
The realisation that she won’t be able to tell her son he’s ‘living in the days of the aubergines’ or ‘chopping onions on my heart’ opens the floodgates. The questions keep coming. How can she pass on the stories without passing on the trauma of displacement? Will her son ever love mango pickle? 
 
In her search for answers Samantha encounters demon bowls, the perils of kohl and the unexpected joys of fusion food. Her journey transports us from the clamour of Noah’s Ark to the calm of the British Museum, from the Oxford School of Rare Jewish Languages to the banks of the River Tigris. As Samantha considers what we lose and keep, she also asks what we might need to let go of to preserve our culture and ourselves. 
 
This is a life-affirming memoir about resilience and repair, and the healing power of dancing to our ancestors’ music, cooking up their recipes and sharing their stories. 
 
‘A moving and resonant lament for the past but also a thought-provoking siren call for the future' ANNE SEBBA 
'Urgent, alive, propulsive. I adored it' MARINA BENJAMIN

Chopping Onions on My Heart

On Losing and Preserving Culture

Xiaolu Guo

The new memoir from prize-winning writer and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo - playful, provocative and original, it's her deeply personal take on striving for a life of her own 
 
'When it comes to spinning light and shadow on the complexities of living, loving and language, Xiaolu Guo is one of the most valuable writers in the world' DEBORAH LEVY 
 
The world can seem strange and lonely when you step away from your family and everything you have tried to call your own. Yet beauty may also appear. In the autumn of 2019 Xiaolu travelled to New York to take up her position as a visiting professor for a year, leaving her child and partner behind in London. The encounter with American culture and people threatens her sense of identity and throws her into a crisis - of meaning, desire, obligation and selfhood. 
 
This is a memoir about separation - by continents, by language, and from people. It's about being an outsider and the desperate longing to connect. Xiaolu uses her exploration of language (one of the meanings of the word 'radical' is the graphic component, or root, of Chinese characters), and her own life, to create this unique text. At once a memoir, a dictionary, and an ardent love letter, it is an expression of her fascination with Western culture and her nostalgia for Eastern landscapes, and an attempt to describe the space in between. An archive of an artist's search for creative freedom, it is above all else an intimate account of her efforts to carve out a life of her own. 
 
'Radical in angle of attack, smart and brave' IAIN SINCLAIR, author of The Gold Machine

Radical

A Life of My Own

Michael Quinion

Long-time word-detective and bestselling author of Port Out, Starboard Home, Michael Quinion brings us the answers to nearly two hundred of the most intriguing questions he's been asked about language over the years. Sent to him by enquiring readers from all around the globe, Michael's answers about the meanings and histories behind the quirky phrases, slang and language that we all use are set to delight, amuse and enlighten even the most hardened word-obsessive. 
 
Did you know that 'Blighty' comes from an ancient Arabic word? Or that Liberace cried his way to the bank so many times people think he came up with the phrase? That 'cloud nine' started out as 'cloud seven' in the speakeasies of '30s America? And that the first person to have their thunder stolen was a dismal playwright from Drury Lane? 
 
Michael Quinion's Why is Q Always Followed By U? is full of surprising discoveries, entertaining quotations and memorable information. There are plenty of colourful stories out there, but Michael Quinion will help you discover the truth that lies behind the cock-and-bull stories and make sure you're always linguistically on the ball.

Why is Q Always Followed by U?

Word-Perfect Answers to the Most-Asked Questions About Language

Patsy Rodenburg

Patsy Rodenburg is the leading acting coach in the UK (she has worked with Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen and Cate Blanchett). Patsy has discovered the principles of speech in theatre apply extremely effectively when transferred into the workplace. 
 
Do you want to be more persuasive? Do you want to enthuse and inpsire and feel good whenever you present or speak in public? This practical programme will make you as effective as Judi Dench is on screen in every meeting, pitch and conversation in person or on the phone. You will learn how to impress your boss without being overbearing, connect with people if you are introvert and you will have true confidence in all your communication. There are practical exercises and example throughout and Patsy's results are amazing.

Power Presentation

Formal Speech in an Informal World

John Yorke

We all love stories. But why do we tell them? And why do all stories function in an eerily similar way? John Yorke, creator of the BBC Writers' Academy, has brought a vast array of drama to British screens. Here he takes us on a journey to the heart of storytelling, revealing that there truly is a unifying shape to narrative forms - one that echoes the fairytale journey into the woods and, like any great art, comes from deep within. From ancient myths to big-budget blockbusters, he gets to the root of the stories that are all around us, every day.

Into The Woods

How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them

Susie Dent

'Susie Dent is a national treasure' RICHARD OSMAN 
 
'Susie Dent is a one-off. She breathes life and fun into words and language' PAM AYRES 
__________________________________________ 
 
Would you be bewildered if someone described you as radgy? 
Do you know how to recognise a tittamatorter? 
And would you understand if someone called you a culchie? 
 
How to Talk Like a Local gathers together hundreds of words from all over the country and digs down to uncover their origins. From dardledumdue, which means daydreamer in East Anglia, through forkin robbins, the Yorkshire term for earwigs, to clemt, a Lancashire word that means hungry, it investigates an astonishingly rich variety of regional expressions, and provides a fascinating insight into the history of the English language. 
 
If you're intrigued by colourful words and phrases, if you're interested in how English is really spoken, or if you simply want to find out a bit more about the development of our language, How to Talk Like a Local is irresistible - and enlightening - reading. 
__________________________________________________ 
 
'Nobody on earth knows more about the English language than Susie Dent and nobody writes about it more entertainingly' GYLES BRANDRETH 
 
'It's an interesting and, at times, hilarious read. One for word-lovers' THE SUN

How to Talk Like a Local

A National Phrasebook from the author of Word Perfect

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