The short-lived Ministry of Information (MoI, 1939–1946) had an outsized impact. It played a key role in the Allied war effort, and its work has reverberated in British culture ever since: from its much darker version (as the 'Ministry of Truth') in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four to memes based on the slogan 'Keep Calm and Carry On'. But despite its long legacy, it has been the subject of only limited scholarly investigation. This multi-authored volume offers the first comprehensiv...

This title was first published in 2001. Literary critics, textual editors and bibliographers, and historians of publishing have hitherto tended to publish their research as if in separate fields of enquiry. The purpose of this volume is to bring together contributions from these fields in a dialogue rooted in the transmission of texts. Arranged chronologically, so as to allow the use of individual sections relevant to period literature courses, the book offers students and teachers a set o...

This book is both a celebration of the life and career of the eminent literary scholar, critic, and journalist John Sutherland and an extension of Sutherland’s work in various fields, including nineteenth- and twentieth-century Anglo-American literature, the publishing industry, and its impact upon creativity and literary puzzles. With contributions from over twenty-five distinguished critics, literary journalists and scholars, this book goes beyond merely describing Sutherland’s work. The...

In the Second World War, the home fronts of many countries became as important as the battle fronts. As governments tried to win and hold the trust of domestic and international audiences, communication became central to their efforts. This volume offers cutting-edge research by leading and emerging scholars on how information was used, distributed and received during the war. With a transnational approach encompassing Germany, Iberia, the Arab world and India, it demonstrates that the Sec...

Did you know that funnel-web spiders can bite through fingernails? That most piranhas are vegetarian? That killer bees are the result of an experiment gone wrong? That a man with athlete's foot once fed parts of his decaying foot to his pet Venus flytrap - and it ate it? Yep, I know a lot of cool stuff. Welcome to my world, where one weird thing leads to another.

'When the Nazi power was broken, I asked myself what was the best advice I could give to my fellow citizens here in this island and across the channel in our ravaged continent. There was no difficulty in answering the question. My counsel to Europe can be given in a single word: Unite!'Sir Winston Churchill in 1947After the Second World War, with Europe in ruins, the victorious Winston Churchill swore to build a peace that would last.Together with a group of thinkers and politicians, Churc...

In The Making of Modern Britain, Andrew Marr paints a fascinating portrait of life in Britain during the first half of the twentieth century as the country recovered from the grand wreckage of the British Empire.Between the death of Queen Victoria and the end of the Second World War, the nation was shaken by war and peace. The two wars were the worst we had ever known and the episodes of peace among the most turbulent and surprising. As the political forum...

**A New York Times bestseller!A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 2017A dual biography of Winston Churchill and George Orwell, who preserved democracy from the threats of authoritarianism, from the left and right alike.**Both George Orwell and Winston Churchill came close to death in the mid-1930's—Orwell shot in the neck in a trench line in the Spanish Civil War, and Churchill struck by a car in New York City. If they'd died then, history...

Tracing the history of swearing from ancient Anglo-Saxon traditions and those of the Middle Ages, through Shakespeare, the Enlightenment and the Victorians, to the Lady Chatterley trial and various current trends, Geoffrey Hughes explores a fascinating, little discussed yet irrespressible part of our linguistic heritage. This second edition contains a Postscript updating various contemporary developments, such as the growth of Political Correctness.

From the bestselling author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower"Even those who have read widely in 20th-century history will find fresh, surprising details." —The Boston Globe"A fascinating read, thanks to Ferguson's gifts as a writer of clear, energetic narrative history." —The Washington PostAstonishing in its scope and erudition, this is the magnum opus that Nia...

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour…Sir Winston Churchill was a soldier, journalist, writer, Nobel Prize winner and, above all, a leader. Conservative then Liberal then Conservative again, his political instincts won him a sustained career at the summit of British government, while his resolve and politics of personality made him broadly regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century.With his early radicalism, bold decisions regarding ...

This is the second edition of English Literature in Context, a popular textbook which provides an essential resource and reference tool for all English literature students. Designed to accompany students throughout their degree course, it offers a detailed narrative survey of the diverse historical and cultural contexts that have shaped the development of English literature, from the Anglo-Saxon period to the present day. Carefully structured for undergraduate use, the eight chronological ...