Mark Bryant

"In this unique book Mark Bryant has collected hundreds of the best riddles of all time, drawn from sources throughout the world. They range from simple jokes about fleas and worms enjoyed by earthy peasants to highly sophisticated puzzles composed by some of the greatest names in the world of letters, from Schiller, Swift and Cervantes to Edgar All Poe, Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkien. To introduce this anthology, Mark Bryant traces the history of riddles from their origins in pre-classical antiquity to modern times."--Jacket.

Riddles, Ancient and Modern

Did you know that Walt Disney never drew Mickey Mouse, that Florence Nightingale owned 60, that Cervantes had only one arm, or that Elizabeth I drank beer for breakfast? Or then again, that George Washington had wooden teeth, Rossetti kept a pet wombat, Wordsworth and Hemingway never wrote at a desk (while Proust worked in bed)? Most biographical dictionaries merely list a subject's date of birth, brief life history and major achievements and never give any idea of what he or she was like as a human being. Private Lives, by contrast, sets out to give the full picture. Fascinating and entertaining, this book is essential reading for those who want to know all the tiny details of the private lives of famous people. -- From Alexander the Great to Emile Zola, this dictionary covers a cross-section of people throughout history -- Over 200 entries -- An entertaining read as well as an invaluable reference source -- Perfect for browsing or reading from cover to cover

Curious Facts about the Famous and Infamous

Private Lives

Robert J.S. Bryant

The Running of Hospitals is a collection of nearly 30 articles on various aspects of the National Health Service published during one of the major reforming periods in UK healthcare, from 1965 until 1985. Written by a former senior hospital and healthcare administrator who was taken on soon after the NHS was set up in 1948, the essays begin during the first Labour Government of Harold Wilson and reflect the growth of the health service through the premierships of Wilson, Edward Heath and James Callaghan up to the early years of Margaret Thatcher. For students, administrators, healthcare workers and anyone interested in the history of the NHS, this book, which brings together for the first time in a single volume some of the most noteworthy articles by one of the profession’s senior figures, will be a welcome addition to the literature on the subject.

Selected Writings on the National Health Service, 1965-85

The Running of Hospitals

Originally published in 1990 by Routledge, Dictionary of Riddles is a collection of nearly 1500 of the most cryptic and entertaining riddles from history. Drawn from sources throughout the world, the collection ranges from earthy medieval jokes about fleas, worms and vegetables to the sophisticated puzzles composed by literary figures from Schiller, Swift, Voltaire, Rousseau and Cervantes to Edgar Allan Poe, Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkien. The book traces the history of riddles from their origins in antiquity through the golden age of the Renaissance, to their decline into the nursery and the first few signs of their modern revival, and draws together all the strands of the riddling art. Dictionary of Riddles received a Special Commendation in Reference Review’s Best Specialist Reference Books of 1990 Awards.

Dictionary of Riddles

Originally published in 1990, Dictionary of Riddles is a collection of nearly 1500 of the most cryptic and entertaining riddles from history. Drawn from sources throughout the world, the collection ranges from earthy medieval jokes about fleas, worms and vegetables to the sophisticated puzzles composed by literary figures from Schiller, Swift, Voltaire, Rousseau and Cervantes to Edgar Allen Poe, Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkien. The book traces the history of riddles from their origins in antiquity through the golden age of the Renaissance, to their decline into the nursery and the first few signs of their modern revival, and draws together all the strands of the riddling art.

From beautiful lyrics to madcap waggery, from the prime suspect in a partridge killing in ancient Greece to the medieval monk's cat Pangur Bán and encompassing odes, fables, stories, limericks, songs, nursery rhymes and more, Mark Bryant has compiled a wonderfully evocative collection of writing of all kinds on cats by those who love them. There are poems from Chaucer, Baudelaire, Emily Dickinson, Thomas Hardy, Christina Rossetti, Shelley and Wordsworth; humorous pieces by Lewis Carroll, Ambrose Bierce, Edward Lear and Jerome K. Jerome; and other delights from writers such as Edgar Allan Poe, Saki and Mark Twain. From ancient Egypt to the recent past, covering every genre, from humour and fantasy to romance and horror, and drawn from every part of the world, these stories, poems and excerpts from essays, letters, diaries and journals provide a collection to delight any cat-lover.

An anthology of stories and poems

Cats

Since the early 1970s, Stan McMurtry - better known as MAC - has been the editorial cartoonist of the Daily Mail. Now, forty-five years after his first cartoon for the newspaper, and in the year of Her Majesty the Queen's 90th birthday, MAC has compiled this wonderful selection of more than 120 of his very best Daily Mail cartoons featuring Her Majesty, from the 1970s until the present day. MAC's unerring ability to hit the target and capture the essence of human foibles has made him Britain's leading editorial cartoonist.

Her Majesty the Queen, as Seen by MAC

Nicolas Bentley

Richard Ingrams

Nicolas Bentley was a man of many parts—publisher, circus clown, film extra, novelist, mimic, journalist, fireman, poet, ad man, and commercial artist. The godson of G.K. Chesterton, he became one of Britain’s best-loved humorous cartoonists and caricaturists. Among the seventy-odd books that still carry the immortal by-line “Nicolas Bentley Drew the Pictures” are works by Hilaire Belloc, Damon Runyon, Lawrence Durrell, Kingsley Amis, and most famously, T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. Here, assembled for the first time in one volume, are nearly 200 of his finest joke drawings.

The cartoon has a special place in the history of World War II, and the power of its message was felt by all sides of the conflict. Acclaimed cartoon historian Dr Mark Bryant has amassed a marvellous collection of images in colour and black and white, some famous, others not so - from, amongst others, British, French, American, Italian, German, Soviet and Japanese sources - which now appear in paperback form for the first time.

Mark Bryant

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