New books :-)

[gnomi]

This evening, MAB got me two new books to slake my desire for British history:

1. A Brief History of British Kings and Queens by Mike Ashley (part of the "A Brief History Of" series)
2. A Rhyming History of Britain, 55 BC - AD 1966 by James Muirden

I haven't looked at the first one yet, but the second one is much fun. It's a complete history of the UK in iambic tetrameter. And it's all accurate, too.

Here's an excerpt:

The jewelled lady in the ruff,
Eventually ran out of puff,
And with her sumptuous cortege
They lay to rest the Tudor age.
What was the secret of a reign
Whose like may never come again?
Surely because her rule expressed
The nation's soul. As she confessed:
'Though greater monarchs came before,
And there may yet be many more --
Of all this princely host, not one
Could love you more than I have done.'

Comments

[pressburger.livejournal.com]

Did you read the Op-Ed in the Times yesterday about Eats Shoots and Leaves? It made me think of you. I almost emailed it to you, but since MAB gets the Times, I figured you'd read the paper version.