{"title":"Books by Mark Forsyth","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780241359242","title":"A Short History of Drunkenness","description":"\u003cb\u003eTHE PERFECT GIFT FOR ANYONE WHO ENJOYS A TIPPLE . . . OR TWO . . . OR TEN! \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlmost every culture on earth has drink, and where there's drink there's drunkenness. But in every age and in every place drunkenness is a little bit different. Tracing humankind's love affair with booze from our primate ancestors through to Prohibition, it answers every possible question:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat did people drink? How much? Who did the drinking? Of the many possible reasons, why? \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the way, learn about the Neolithic Shamans, who drank to communicate with the spirit world (no pun intended), marvel at how Greeks got giddy and Romans got rat-arsed, and find out how bars in the Wild West were never like the movies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis is a history of the world at its inebriated best.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'This book is \u003cb\u003ea laugh riot\u003c\/b\u003e. I mean the way the author has presented it is \u003cb\u003ehilarious and to the point\u003c\/b\u003e' Goodreads Reviewer \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Highly entertaining. \u003cb\u003eCheers! Bottoms up! Good health!\u003c\/b\u003e' Goodreads Reviewer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It \u003cb\u003ecan make a good gift\u003c\/b\u003e for someone with a sense of humour and appreciation for the magical powers of alcohol' Goodreads Reviewer","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43405871612082,"sku":"9780241359242","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780241359242.jpg?v=1786012797"},{"product_id":"9781805465287","title":"Rhyme and Reason","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Enchanting' Stephen Fry\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Unconventional, surprising and provocative from the first page' \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDid you know:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e- Lord Byron sold more books in a day than Jane Austen did in her lifetime\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e- During the First World War there were more women poets published than soldier poets\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e- A kitchen-maid became one of the most popular poets of the 18th century\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSome people worry that they don't appreciate poetry; but English poetry wasn't written to be appreciated, it was written to be enjoyed. For six centuries people have been reading poetry for enjoyment - for fun, romance, religion and entertainment - and this is a book about those people.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eRhyme \u0026amp; Reason\u003c\/i\u003e takes you from a medieval accountant (called Chaucer) trying to entertain his lord, past a doomed love affair in the Tower of London, through adoring sonnets and notebooks filled with dirty poems, and into the heart of Byromania and the Victorian hearth, to help you understand why poetry has had such an enduring hold on the British psyche.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the poems of housemaids to the rhymes of kings, it's the history of Britain through the poems that people read, recited and loved.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57682771870069,"sku":"9781805465300","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":55896471404917,"sku":"9781805465287","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781805465300_36e1a535-2262-4936-a05c-53ee26296a1b.jpg?v=1792511663"},{"product_id":"9780241267738","title":"A Christmas Cornucopia","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBY THE \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe perfect gift for anyone \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ewho has ever wondered about the unpredictable origins and etymologies of our Christmas customs!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e For something that happens every year of our lives, we really don't know much about Christmas.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e We don't know that the date we celebrate was chosen by a madman, or that Christmas, etymologically speaking, means \"Go away, Christ\". We're oblivious to the fact that the advent calendar was actually invented by a Munich housewife to stop her children pestering her for a Christmas countdown. And we would never have guessed that the invention of crackers was merely a way of popularising sweet wrappers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Luckily, like a gift from Santa himself, Mark Forsyth is here to unwrap this fundamentally funny gallimaufry of traditions and oddities, making it all finally make sense - in his wonderfully entertaining wordy way.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Witty and revelatory. Blooming brilliant' Raymond Briggs\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'Everything we ever thought about Christmas is wrong! Great stuff' Matthew Parris\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56228216602997,"sku":"9780241267738","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780241267738_ed34a368-bc96-4270-a765-9f910c37eefe.jpg?v=1786012771"},{"product_id":"9781785781704","title":"The Etymologicon","description":"\u003cp\u003eTHE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Witty and erudite ... stuffed with the kind of arcane information that nobody strictly needs to know, but which is a pleasure to learn nonetheless.' Nick Duerden, Independent.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eParticularly good ... Forsyth takes words and draws us into their, and our, murky history.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWilliam Leith, Evening Standard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Etymologicon is an occasionally ribald, frequently witty and unerringly erudite guided tour of the secret labyrinth that lurks beneath the English language. What is the actual connection between disgruntled and gruntled? What links church organs to organised crime, California to the Caliphate, or brackets to codpieces? Mark Forsyth's riotous celebration of the idiosyncratic and sometimes absurd connections between words is a classic of its kind: a mine of fascinating information and a must-read for word-lovers everywhere.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHighly recommended' Spectator\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56304680075637,"sku":"9781785781704","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781785781704_e76aca72-77d0-4a9f-9a63-2657de199d90.jpg?v=1786025635"},{"product_id":"9781785781711","title":"The Horologicon","description":"\u003cp\u003eFROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER THE ETYMOLOGICON.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReading The Horologicon in one sitting is very tempting' Roland White, Sunday Times.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMark Forsyth presents a delightfully eccentric day in the life of unusual, beautiful and forgotten English words. From uhtceare in the hours before dawn through to dream drumbles at bedtime, The Horologicon gives you the extraordinary lost words you never knew you needed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWake up feeling rough? Then you're philogrobolized. Pretending to work? That's fudgelling (which may lead to rizzling if you feel sleepy after lunch).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA Radio 4 Book of the Week, The Horologicon is an eye-opening, page-turning celebration of the English language at its most endearingly arcane.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305230381429,"sku":"9781785781711","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781785781711_5655adff-86dc-41b8-9cc9-58b64f963410.jpg?v=1786025636"},{"product_id":"9781785787850","title":"The Illustrated Etymologicon","description":"\u003cp\u003eA NEW, BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED HARDBACK EDITION OF THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER, PUBLISHED ON ITS TENTH ANNIVERSARY.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWitty and erudite ... stuffed with the kind of arcane information that nobody strictly needs to know, but which is a pleasure to learn nonetheless.' Nick Duerden, Independent.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eParticularly good ... Forsyth takes words and draws us into their, and our, murky history.' William Leith, Evening Standard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Etymologicon is an occasionally ribald, frequently witty and unerringly erudite guided tour of the secret labyrinth that lurks beneath the English language. What is the actual connection between disgruntled and gruntled? What links church organs to organised crime, California to the Caliphate, or brackets to codpieces? Mark Forsyth's riotous celebration of the idiosyncratic and sometimes absurd connections between words is a classic of its kind: a mine of fascinating information and a must-read for word-lovers everywhere.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHighly recommended' Spectator\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305428398453,"sku":"9781785787850","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781785787850_36f83a05-a47a-4a43-9916-abfb68a34958.jpg?v=1786025721"},{"product_id":"9781785781728","title":"The Elements of Eloquence","description":"FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER THE ETYMOLOGICON. 'An informative but highly entertaining journey through the figures of rhetoric ... Mark Forsyth wears his considerable knowledge lightly. He also writes beautifully.' David Marsh, Guardian. Mark Forsyth presents the secret of writing unforgettable phrases, uncovering the techniques that have made immortal such lines as 'To be or not to be' and 'Bond. James Bond.' In his inimitably entertaining and witty style, he takes apart famous quotations and shows how you too can write like Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde or John Lennon.Crammed with tricks to make the most humdrum sentiments seem poetic or wise, The Elements of Eloquence reveals how writers through the ages have turned humble words into literary gold - and how you can do the same.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305553473909,"sku":"9781785781728","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781785781728_3e3ea448-efab-4fa1-a126-40417b60a8b3.jpg?v=1786025636"},{"product_id":"9781788453165","title":"A Riddle for a King (Times Children’s Book of the Week, from the bestselling author of the Etymologicon)","description":"Philo longs for freedom and adventure, and he most certainly gets it when he lands in the strangest of lands: a place where nothing makes sense, a place packed with riddles and paradoxes. Will Philo ever make it home? Will he make sense of the conundrums that litter his path? An addictive, delightfully bamboozling story sure to thrill and intrigue puzzle-loving readers.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56306699764085,"sku":"9781788453165","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781788453165_8054cde1-ae6d-4eba-b0dd-b0511d3504bc.jpg?v=1786026645"},{"product_id":"9781848317840","title":"The Unknown Unknown","description":"Mark Forsyth - author of the Sunday Times Number One bestseller The Etymologicon - reveals in this essay, specially commissioned for Independent Booksellers Week, the most valuable thing about a really good bookshop.Along the way he considers the wisdom of Donald Rumsfeld, naughty French photographs, why Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy would never have met online, and why only a bookshop can give you that precious thing - what you never knew you were looking for.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308371226997,"sku":"9781848317840","price":2.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781848317840_8f128524-7ac4-41f1-ac10-0d466938aab7.jpg?v=1786033996"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-mark-forsyth.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}