{"title":"Books by Bill Bryson","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780008610043","title":"Shakespeare","description":"\u003cp\u003eBill Bryson’s biography of William Shakespeare unravels the superstitions, academic discoveries and myths surrounding the life of our greatest poet and playwright. Ever since he took the theatre of Elizabethan London by storm over 400 years ago, Shakespeare has remained centre stage. His fame stems not only from his plays – performed everywhere from school halls to the world's most illustrious theatres – but also from his enigmatic persona. His face is familiar to all, yet in reality very little is known about the man behind the masterpieces. Shakespeare’s life, despite the scrutiny of generations of biographers and scholars, is still a thicket of myths and traditions, some preposterous, some conflicting, arranged around the few scant facts known about the Bard – from his birth in Stratford to the bequest of his second best bed to his wife when he died.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTaking us on a journey through the streets of Elizabethan and Jacobean England, Bryson examines centuries of stories, half-truths and downright lies surrounding our greatest dramatist. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, he introduces a host of engaging characters, as he celebrates the magic of Shakespeare's language and delights in details of the bard's life, folios, poetry and plays.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128967725234,"sku":"9780008610043","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780008610043.jpg?v=1785658642"},{"product_id":"9780007197903","title":"Shakespeare","description":"From bestselling author Bill Bryson comes this compelling short biography of William Shakespeare, our greatest dramatist and poet.Examining centuries of myths, half-truths and downright lies, Bill Bryson makes sense of the man behind the masterpieces. As he leads us through the crowded streets of Elizabethan England, he brings to life the places and characters that inspired Shakespeare’s work. Along the way he delights in the inventiveness of Shakespeare’s language, which has given us so many of the indispensable words and phrases we use today, and celebrates the Bard’s legacy to our literature, culture and history.Drawing together information from a vast array of sources, this is a masterful account of the life and works of William Shakespeare, one of the most famous and most enigmatic people ever to have lived – not to mention a classic piece of Bill Bryson.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201152745650,"sku":"9780007197903","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780007197903.jpg?v=1785658706"},{"product_id":"9780241451939","title":"A Really Short History of Nearly Everything","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePerfect for ages 8 to 80!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAdapted from \u003ci\u003eA Short History of Nearly Everything, \u003c\/i\u003ethis stunningly illustrated book from\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e Bill Bryson takes us from the Big Bang to the dawn of science, and everything \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ein between! \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEver wondered how we got from nothing to something?\u003cbr\u003eOr thought about how we can weigh the earth?\u003cbr\u003eOr wanted to reach the edge of the universe?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUncover the mysteries of time, space and life on earth in this extraordinary book - a journey from the centre of the planet, to the dawn of the dinosaurs, and everything in between. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd discover our own incredible journey, from single cell to civilisation, including the brilliant (and sometimes very bizarre) scientists who helped us find out the how and why.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe ideal book for curious young readers everywhere\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eReviews for \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Short History of Nearly Everything:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It's the sort of book I would have devoured as a teenager. It might well turn unsuspecting young readers into scientists.' \u003ci\u003eEvening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I doubt that a better book for the layman about the findings of modern science has been written' \u003ci\u003eSunday Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'A thoroughly enjoyable, as well as educational, experience. Nobody who reads it will ever look at the world around them in the same way again' \u003ci\u003eDaily Express\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'The very book I have been looking for most of my life' \u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201628995762,"sku":"9780241451939","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780241451939_2832518a-1a0d-4b4a-8ca9-4a8175583bd9.jpg?v=1786012146"},{"product_id":"9780241606223","title":"A Really Short Journey Through the Body","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A sure-fire winner . . . sparkles with interest and excitement throughout' - Guardian Best Children's Books of 2023\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou’ll spend your WHOLE LIFE in your body. So it’s only fair you know how it works, right?\u003cbr\u003eThis book will teach you EVERYTHING you need to know about the machine that is YOU. From your astonishing brain to your hard-working heart.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGet ready for the BIG questions, like:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow many muscles do you move playing Fortnight? (A twitch of a thumb on the controller uses TEN muscles)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAre chillis actually HOT? (Short answer: no. We’ve been fooled by a plant.)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow far can we sneeze? (Your sneeze droplets can reach up to eight meters – which means you could sneeze over an entire class.)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eYou’ll also meet people like Chevalier Jackson, who collected things that people had swallowed by accident (for science, of course). 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With the trademark brio, wit and authority that make him Britain’s favourite writer of narrative non-fiction, he brings to life a forgotten summer when America came of age, took centre stage, and changed the world.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201778942130,"sku":"9780552772563","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780552772563_e5ceddf0-3a82-427c-9ab7-86b4c71e9433.jpg?v=1786014200"},{"product_id":"9780552779906","title":"The Body","description":"\u003cp\u003e#1 Bestseller in both hardback and paperback: SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 ROYAL SOCIETY INSIGHT INVESTMENT SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A directory of wonders.'\u003ci\u003e - The Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Jaw-dropping.'\u003ci\u003e - The Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Classic, wry, gleeful Bryson...an entertaining and absolutely fact-rammed book.'\u003ci\u003e - The Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It is a feat of narrative skill to bake so many facts into an entertaining and nutritious book.'\u003ci\u003e - The Daily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'We spend our whole lives in one body and yet most of us have practically no idea how it works and what goes on inside it. 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And not just because of the cream teas, a noble history, and an extra day off at Christmas.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOnce again, with his matchless homing instinct for the funniest and quirkiest, his unerring eye for the idiotic, the endearing, the ridiculous and the scandalous,   Bryson gives us an acute and perceptive insight into all that is best and worst about Britain today.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43201798308018,"sku":"9780552779838","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780552779838_e01f9332-8baa-4165-8df4-7f68832bc3b4.jpg?v=1786013490"},{"product_id":"9780857527691","title":"The Body Illustrated","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eNumber One Bestseller in both hardback and paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book of the Year\u003cbr\u003eThe ideal gift for everybody\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A directory of wonders.'\u003ci\u003e Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Jaw-dropping.' \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Classic, wry, gleeful Bryson...an entertaining and absolutely fact-rammed book.'\u003ci\u003e The Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It is a feat of narrative skill to bake so many facts into an entertaining and nutritious book.'\u003ci\u003e Daily Telegraph\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'We spend our whole lives in one body and yet most of us have practically no idea how it works and what goes on inside it. 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His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite; a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy; place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowells; people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and ‘Ooh lovely’ at the sight of a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits; and \u003ci\u003eGardeners' Question Time\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eNotes from a Small Island\u003c\/i\u003e was a huge number-one bestseller when it was first published, and has become the nation's most loved book about Britain, going on to sell over two million copies.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204929585330,"sku":"9781784161194","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781784161194_213757fd-287d-48c7-81db-1063bc3c4768.jpg?v=1786026002"},{"product_id":"9781784161446","title":"A Walk In The Woods","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Short of doing it yourself, the best way of escaping into nature is to read a book like \u003ci\u003eA Walk in the Woods.' 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