BOOK BLURB:"The Shakespeare Almanac" is a day by day calendar of Shakespeare's year. It follows the rural farming cycle of lambing to sheep-shearing to harvest home, as they are referred to in Shakespeare's plays and poetry. It lists all the high days and holidays, from Christmas to Easter, Candelmas to Hocktide. Every passing month is supplied with quotations from the plays about changeable weather patterns, or the flowers and plants as they appear, as well as the animals and birds he saw around him. And each day, significant events during Shakespeare's lifetime are recorded. These might be family occasions: the christening of his twins, the marriage of one of his daughters, or the date when he bought his house in Stratford. There are eye-witness accounts of duels and executions, an accident at a bear baiting, a tilt in Westminster, a masque at Whitehall. Some days are accompanied by extracts from influential books of the period. For example on 24 January, reputedly the gloomiest day of the year, there is a piece from Burton's "Anatomy of Melancholia", which is surprisingly funny. There are also accounts of discoveries round the globe, portraits of the Shogun of Japan and the murderous Czar of Russia, of elephant fights with the great Moghul Emperor Akbar. "The Shakespeare Almanac" is a cornucopia of intriguing and wonderful details about the life and times of England's greatest playwright, complete with integrated illustrations. The book has been lovingly compiled by Gregory Doran, Chief Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, described by the 'Sunday Times" as 'one of the great Shakespearians of his generation'.
REVIEW:
As a person who tends to love trivia, its always cracking to find something a little novel and different to the norm. Whats presented here, in the Shakespeare Almanac is a book that gives you something connected to the Bard or one of his plays along with trivia for each day of the year. Its fun, its definitely quirky and if you’re struggling for that something special for a person in your life then this could tip the balance in your favour. A great book and a fun one for each reader as you can guarantee the first thing that they’ll do is look up their own birthday to devour what the author has to say about the great bard.
BOOK BLURB:Once again, Nigel Cawthorne takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the strange, hidden sexual history of England. The history of sex in Britain has been largely glossed over by 'proper' historians: Nigel Cawthorne has burrowed deep into the archives to reveal exactly what our ancestors got up to in bed (and out of it). There are chapters on the ancient arts of seduction, adultery, brothels, 'the English vice', contraception, defloration, and many more - from the torrid Tudors to the supposedly strait-laced Victorians.
REVIEW:
Readers have always been fascinated with those little bits of what some would see as useless information. Personally I love that sort of thing so when you throw in a bit of sexual relish about the past secrets of our ancestors its going to be something that will grab the reader by the cahones and take them to the book counter to pay.
Unfortunately its not so much sex secrets of the past but scandalisation of our ancestors relationships which whilst still interesting isn’t quite what was promised on the cover. If you like trivia or just a big pub quizzer some of these facts may well soon make their way into it. Still a fun read despite my gripe and definitely a bathroom book for those quick trips.
BOOK BLURB:Abbreviations, Agriculture, Architecture, Areas of Outstanding Beauty, Art, Astrology and Astronomy - and that's just the letter 'A'! The A TO Z OF BRITAIN AND IRELAND will follow the successful format of the previous titles in the series by treating the main topic areas in alphabetical order. Importantly, the book will cover all five countries in the British Isles, including Ireland, which is neglected by many similar books. Trevor will be as broad-ranging and exhaustive as ever: this will be the first book ever to list all the islands of the British Isles. (There are 6089 cited by the Ordnance Survey: 1082 inhabited, 5007 uninhabited.)
REVIEW:
Days out are always tricky to plan, especially if such as the times are, finances are tight. What can you do and what can you see that won’t cost you the earth yet give you a special day out? Well worry no more, within this offering is a complete list of places that you can go, sorted by county and alphabetically and will hold some surprises on local options that you may not previously have known about. A great book to help with those days out and one that will be well thumbed on those trips out with my nephew.
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