{"title":"Books by Albert Jack","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780141043432","title":"The Old Dog and Duck","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a book for everyone who has ever wondered why pubs should be called \u003cb\u003eThe Cross Keys\u003c\/b\u003e, \u003cb\u003eThe Dew Drop Inn\u003c\/b\u003e or \u003cb\u003eThe Hope and Anchor\u003c\/b\u003e. You'll be glad to know that there are very good - strange and memorable - reasons behind them all.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter much research about (and in) pubs, Albert Jack brings together the stories behind pub names to reveal how they offer fascinating and subversive insights on our history, customs, attitudes and jokes in just the same way that nursery rhymes do. \u003cb\u003eThe Royal Oak\u003c\/b\u003e, for instance, commemorates the tree that hid Charles II from Cromwell's forces after his defeat at Worcester; \u003cb\u003eThe Bag of Nails\u003c\/b\u003e is a corruption of the Bacchanals, the crazed followers of Bacchus, the god of wine and drunkenness; \u003cb\u003eThe Cat and the Fiddle\u003c\/b\u003e a mangling of Catherine La Fidele and a guarded gesture of support for Henry VIII's first, Catholic, wife Catherine of Aragon; plus many, many more. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHere too are even more facts about everything from ghosts to drinking songs to the rules of cribbage and shove ha'penny, showing that, ultimately, the story of pub history is really the story of our own popular history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56224593478005,"sku":"9780141043432","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141043432_5eb9510c-c236-4223-a8a0-3e9b0e673eae.jpg?v=1786011026"},{"product_id":"9780141030982","title":"Pop Goes the Weasel","description":"\u003cp\u003eI\u003cb\u003en \u003ci\u003ePop Goes the Weasel\u003c\/i\u003e, Albert Jack explores the strange and fascinating histories behind the nursery rhymes we thought we knew, showing that their real meanings are far from innocent.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWho were Mary Quite Contrary and Georgie Porgie? How could Hey Diddle Diddle offer an essential astronomy lesson? And if Ring a Ring a Roses isn't about catching the plague, then what is it really about? This ingenious book delves into the hidden meanings of the nursery rhymes and songs we all know so well and discovers all kinds of strange tales ranging from Viking raids to firewalking and from political rebellion to slaves being smuggled to freedom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the grim true story behind 'Oranges and Lemons' to the deadly secrets of Mary Quite Contrary's garden, and from how Lucy Locket lost more than her pocket to why Humpty Dumpty wasn't egg-shaped at all, \u003ci\u003ePop Goes the Weasel\u003c\/i\u003e is a compendium of surprising stories you won't be able to resist passing on to everyone you know.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'An irresistible treasure-trove'\u003cbr\u003e  \u003ci\u003e Daily Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Most of us can still recite the words to nursery rhymes we learned as children, but how many know the real meanings behind our most familiar verses? Albert Jack reveals hidden histories of cannons, courtesans and vengeful queens'\u003cbr\u003e   \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'The history behind nursery rhymes is not only highly specific but often splendidly grim'\u003cbr\u003e  \u003ci\u003e The Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cb\u003eAlbert Jack \u003c\/b\u003ehas become something of a publishing phenomenon, clocking up hundreds of thousands of sales with his series of bestselling adventures tracing the fantastic stories behind everyday phrases (\u003ci\u003eRed Herrings and White Elephants\u003c\/i\u003e), the world's great mysteries (\u003ci\u003eLoch Ness Monsters and Raining Frogs\u003c\/i\u003e) and nursery rhymes (\u003ci\u003ePop Goes the Weasel\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56225024082293,"sku":"9780141030982","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141030982_99a3fe40-b928-40ac-bbe0-d5fcd84d2661.jpg?v=1786011622"},{"product_id":"what-caesar-did-for-my-salad","title":"What Caesar Did For My Salad","description":"\u003cp\u003eDid you know that the Cornish pasty was invented to protect tin miners from arsenic poisoning, or that the word 'salary' comes from Roman soldiers being paid their wages in salt? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhy do we eat goose (or turkey) at Christmas? Is the Scotch egg actually from Scotland and what did some retired crusaders have to do with French toast? Who was the original Earl Grey and what sauce was inspired by Parliament? What dish was invented by Greek bandits on the run? Why were hot cross buns seen as magical and what's so rebellious about a haggis or medicinal about a gin and tonic? Did you know what the romantic history is behind the Bakewell Pudding?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlbert Jack tells the strange tales behind our favourite dishes and drinks and where they come from (not to mention their unusual creators). In the colourful, wonderful vein of \u003ci\u003eSchott's Food and Drink Miscellany\u003c\/i\u003e, Albert Jack's \u003ci\u003eWhat Caesar Did For My Salad\u003c\/i\u003e is bursting with fascinating insights, characters and enough stories to entertain a hundred dinner parties.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlbert Jack is the author such bestselling titles as \u003ci\u003ePop Goes the Weasel\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eShaggy Dogs and Black Sheep\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Old Dog and Duck\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57466586759541,"sku":"9780141043449","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780141043449.jpg?v=1785654644"},{"product_id":"red-herrings-and-white-elephants","title":"Red Herrings And White Elephants","description":"'The man with all the answers in Albert Jack' Daily Express'Square meal' 'Load of old codswallop' 'Egg on your face' 'In the limelight'. . .   The English language is littered with everyday expressions like these, but have you ever stopped to wonder what they really mean and where they come from? Red Herrings and White Elephants delves deep into the fabric of English phraseology and in doing so explores the wide-ranging factors and fascinating linguistic history which continues to inform the way we speak to this day.   So whether you want to impress whilst hobnobbing with clever folk, lick your pub quiz knowledge into shape, or simply add a feather to your linguistic cap, you'll soon be full of incredible facts that leave you feeling as bright as a button.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487971942773,"sku":"9781789465624","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781789465624.jpg?v=1786355214"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-albert-jack.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}