Caroline Taggart

Ever wanted to ameliorate your atavistic lexicon, engage in a little intellectual badinage or been discombobulated by tricky diction? 500 Words You Should Know has you covered. Arranged thematically, each word is dissected, with a brief explanation of etymology, historical and modern usage, allowing you to fully understand and effectively employ the word in its proper context.

500 Words You Should Know

It's no myth: this lively refresher course fills in all you need to know about ancient studies-from Zeus's throne to the fall of Rome-in pithy little quips. It covers the impressive advances made by Greek and Roman societies, from language to medicine, from art to architecture. You'll learn: The Greek alphabet, from alpha to omega The history and characteristics that define Greek and Roman architecture and its influence on modern building Greek and Latin words, which make up more than 30 percent of the words in the English language, and how you can build your vocabulary by learning the roots The Greek and Roman gods, the mythology surrounding them, and the part these figures play in our culture Almost 1,000 years of Greek and Roman history, from the birth of democracy to Caesar's empire The philosophies taught by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle and what their ideas have contributed to the world we live in today How modern cultural staples such as the Olympics were formed by classical literature written by authors such as Homer and Cicero A fascinating introduction to the world that became the foundation for Western Civilization, The Classics puts the same information from stuffy textbooks at your fingertips in one entertaining read. Make this and all of the Blackboard Books(tm) a permanent fixture on your shelf, and you'll have instant access to a breadth of knowledge. Whether you need homework help or want to win that trivia game, this series is the trusted source for fun facts.

All You Need to Know, from Zeus's Throne to the Fall of Rome

The Classics

Start with Chaucer, Dickens, Blake and Larkin in Westminster Abbey. Hop on a bus through Zadie Smith's North London or spend an afternoon at Colliers Wood Nature Reserve in Nottinghamshire and look at the lake "all grey and visionary, stretching into the moist, translucent vista of trees and meadow" that D. H. Lawrence described in Women in Love. Come back to London to walk along Monica Ali's Brick Lane and try to push a trolley through the wall of Platform 93/4 at King's Cross Station. From the Brontë parsonage in Haworth to Waugh's Castle Howard; from Beatrix Potter's Lake District, Shakespeare's Stratford and Robert Louis Stevenson's Edinburgh, there are gardens, monuments, museums, churches and a surprising quantity of stained glass. There are walks both urban and rural, where you can explore real landscapes or imaginary haberdasher's shops. There's the club where Buck's Fizz was invented and a pub where you can eat Sherlock's Steak & Ale Pie. And there's a railway station where you can stroke the muzzle of one of the world's most famous and endearing bears.

Book Lovers Bucket List

J. A. Wines

A runaway hit and Sunday Times bestseller in 2008, My Grammar and I has continued to grow in popularity, becoming the go-to guide for grammar. Repackaged with a fresh jacket design, this much-loved gift title is now available in paperback, for new readers and fans of the series alike. My Grammar and I offers amusing examples of awful grammar, while steering you in the direction of grammatical greatness. Taking you on a tour of the English language through the minefield of rules and conditions that can catch you out, from dangling modifiers to split infinitives, it highlights the common pitfalls that every English language user faces on a day to day basis. Refreshing everything you should have learnt at school and more, My Grammar and I is informative yet entertaining - an ideal buy for any English language enthusiast.

Old-School Ways to Sharpen Your English

My Grammar and I (Or Should That Be)

Suitable for parents who wish to teach their children, this book includes: Latin and Greek; Logic and philosophy; Natural sciences; Art and architecture; Poetry and drama; and, History and Classical literature.

The Stuff You Wish You'd Been Taught at School

A Classical Education

• Her Ladyship, star of Her Ladyship's Guide to the Queen's English and Her Ladyship's Guide to Modern Manners, turns her attention to another tricky area of modern life: how to run a home • She gives you the proper advice on burning domestic issues ranging from everyday housework and how to behave around house guests to dealing with cleaners and childminders • The perfect gift for anyone who wants to run their home 'properly' but practically Ever wondered how to fit the ironing into an already overcrowded schedule? Or needed advice on how to deal with house guests whose political opinions you abhor? In this charming follow-up to the popular Her Ladyship's Guide to the Queen's English, Her Ladyship dons the mantle of a modern Mrs Beeton to provide the answers to these pressing domestic questions, and many more. In her trademark lightly humorous but always elegant style, she discusses important issues such as day-to-day housekeeping and routines (exactly how clean do you need to keep your house?), dealing effectively but graciously with 'staff' (cleaners, au pairs, gardeners), how to avoid committing social faux pas when entertaining, and useful ideas for getting the children to help with the housework. The book is not aimed solely at people who live in large country houses, like Her Ladyship, but at anyone who feels in need of a bit of gentle guidance on running a home properly, whatever its size or type, while still coping with the demands of work, childcare and all the other perils of modern life.

Her Ladyship's Guide to Running One's Home

Her Ladyship's guide to speaking and writing better English. Wherever you are, whatever the company, good English will always stand you in good stead. The world's most important language has a number of difficult areas and pitfalls, and almost all of us have some area to improve, whether it's how to spell 'millennium', how to pronounce 'schedule' the English way (as opposed to the American way), or find the correct word for the 'toilet' when talking to bishops and barons. Her Ladyship's guide quickly takes you through the major problem areas. It covers: common mistakes in grammar (which will belie a lowly upbringing), common misspellings, commonly misused words, and the all-important choice of words and phrases to use in posh society with a pronunciation guide.

Her Ladyship's Guide to the Queen's English

A Potted History of Britain in 100 Royal Places

Bognor and Other Regises

Her Ladyship's Guide to the British Season

Her Ladyship's Guide to the Art of Conversation

And Other Quotations You Should Know

All That Glisters ...

... and Other Misadventures in Punctuation

Accidental Apostrophe

True Stories of Love, Life and Loss on the British Home Front

Wartime Summer

Ours is a land rich in moist, mouth watering flavours, of sponges and scones, fruitcakes and fancies. So what better way to capture a slice of Britain than to devour its many tea-time treats, slice by sumptuous slice? That's what Caroline Taggart set out to do, and in 'A Slice of Britain' she investigates - amongst other things - just what separates a Coventry cod cake from an Eccles cake, or Grantham gingerbread from Whitby gingerbread.

Around the Country by Cake

A Slice of Britain

stuff you forgot from school

I used to know that

An entertaining and informative look at thousands of years of history to shed light on the words and phrases we use most often - and where they came from. In this highly entertaining book, language enthusiast and Sunday Times best-selling author Caroline Taggart browses through thousands of years of history to shed light on why we use the words and phrases we do. Arranged by themes including food, the household, childhood, romance and more, this intriguing book looks at the origins of our language from their historical context. For example, did you know that: If you rest on your laurels, you're imitating a complacent Roman general? If you eavesdrop, you're likely to get wet? If you're taken aback, you should, strictly speaking, be a sailing ship? If you're galvanized into action, you're behaving like Frankenstein's monster? From blue-blooded (an invention of aristocratic Spaniards) to limelight (a way of lighting Victorian theaters), passing an exam with flying colors (another image from sailing ships) to winning hands down (from horse racing), Humble Pie and Cold Turkey will answer questions you may never have thought to ask. Including why turkeys need to be cold and how pies came to be humble.

English Expressions and Their Origins

Humble Pie and Cold Turkey

A runaway hit and Sunday Times bestseller, My Grammar and I has continued to grow in popularity, becoming the go-to guide for grammar. My Grammar and I offers amusing examples of awful grammar, while steering you in the direction of grammatical greatness. Taking you on a tour of the English language through the minefield of rules and conditions that can catch you out, from dangling modifiers to split infinitives, it highlights the common pitfalls that every English language user faces on a day to day basis. Refreshing everything you should have learnt at school and more, My Grammar and I is informative yet entertaining - an ideal buy for any English language enthusiast.

My Grammar and I (Or Should That Be 'Me'?)

Her Ladyship's guide to speaking and writing better English. Wherever you are, whatever the company, good English will always stand you in good stead.

Mr. Renny's paintings are so good that they almost appear real. But no one seems to pay them any attention-until a strange man offers to make everything that Mr. Renny paints come to life. First there's the painting of the apple, which Mr. Renny can now eat. Then there's a huge hotdog, a new car, a cruise liner... Mr. Renny paints himself a life of luxury-until his friend Rose comes to ask if she can buy one of his paintings. But he doesn't have any real paintings left! The spell must be broken-and soon! A book containing subtle references to the work of Belgian surrealist Ren Magritte, the illustrations are full of clever and amusing details.

Stuff You Forgot from School

I Used to Know That

The rhetorical question is one of those grammatical quirks that just doesn't seem to have any logic to it; a question that doesn't require an answer - what kind of question is that? However, now, thanks to Answers to Rhetorical Questions, you will no longer be left in the dark when someone asks you 'what love's got to do with it?', 'what shall we do with the drunken sailor?' or 'who wants to be a millionaire?' All these answers and many more are contained in this playful and informative gift book, which includes: . How long is a piece of string? . Whose life is it anyway? . How much is that doggy in the window? . How soon is now? . Are you blind? The days of being baffled and bemused are over thanks to this tongue-in-cheek book that will have its readers not only laughing out loud but perhaps even learning something utterly irrelevant too.

Caroline Taggart

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