The Adventure of English: 500AD to 2000 - THE BIOGRAPHY of a LANGUAGE.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn,and no price- clip (£20.00) to dw/dj.Bright,crisp,clean,wrap-around colour photographic seascape illustrated dw/dj,with blue,brown and yellow lettering; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Miniscule bumping with reciprocal creasing to both head+foot of dw/dj's spine/backstrip,and majority of any creasing is to the top,front+rear edges.Top+fore-edges very slightly aged - as usual/normal - not excessive,generally bright and clean; contents bright,tight, clean,solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - possibly unread? Bright,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original,plain dark blue cloth bds with bright,crisp,stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate dark maroon endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,ix-xiipp +1-354pp [paginated] includes intro,24 chapters,32pp b/w+colour historical illus/photographs in 4 blocks of 8pp apiece,between pp84/5,pp148/9,pp196/7 and pp260/1 respectively; acknowledgements,picture acknowledgements,biblio and an index.Plus [unpaginated],half-title+title pages,a dedication,and contents list/table and 2pp blanks at rear.
English is the collective work of millions of people throughout the ages.It is democratic,everchanging and ingenious in its assimilation of other cultures.English runs through the heart of world finance,medicine and the Internet,and it is understood by around two thousand million people across the world.It seems set to go on.Yet it was very nearly wiped out in its early years.
In this book Melvyn Bragg shows us the remarkable story of the English language; from its beginnings as a minor guttural Germanic dialect to its position today as a truly established glogal language. Along the way its colourful story takes in a host of characters and locations,from the early tribes,Alfred the Great's stubborn resistance to the Danes and through its early literary masterpieces such as Beowulf and the bawdy Geoffrey Chaucer; Henry VIII's battles with the church over bootleg bibles; a 'coarse' playwright named William Shakespeare; the songs of the Creole slaves and the words of Davy Crockett; street slang and Dr Johnson's dictionary; the role of English in India and its adoption in the United States of America which returned the language with full interest.
Embracing elements of Latin,French,Spanish,Italian,Portuguese,Arabic,Hindi and Gullah,this 1500-year story covers a huge range of countries and peoples.'The Adventure of English' is not only an enthralling story of power,religion and trade,but also the story of people,and how their day-to-day lives shaped and continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.
Please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,for correct shipping/ P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!