Warwick Books and Kenilworth Books » Quirky Book Of The Month

Shapely Ankle Preferr’d : A History of the Lonely Hearts Advertisement

Keith Smith — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:48:42 +0000

What do women look for in a man? And what do men look for in a woman? And how and why has this changed over the centuries? Every week thousands of people advertise for love either in newspapers, magazines or online. But if you think this is a modern phenomenon, think again – the ads have been running for over three hundred years. From the first ad in 1695 from a young gentleman who ‘would willingly Match himself to some Good Young Gentlewoman, that has a Fortune of GBP3000 or thereabouts’ to the GSOH, WLTM and online dating of more recent years, each ad is a snapshot of its age.

The result is a startling history of sex, marriage and society over three centuries – hilarious and heartbreaking by turn.

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Calories and Corsets : A History of Dieting Over Two Thousand Years

Keith Smith — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:36:45 +0000

This is an enlightening and entertaining social history of how we have tried (and failed) to battle the bulge over two millennia. Today we are urged from all sides to slim down and shape up, to shed a few pounds or lose life-threatening stones. The media’s relentless obsession with size may be perceived as a twenty-first-century phenomenon, but as award-winning historian Louise Foxcroft shows, we have been struggling with what to eat, when and how much, ever since the Greeks and the Romans first pinched an inch.

Meticulously researched, surprising and sometimes shocking, “Calories and Corsets” tells the epic story of our complicated relationship with food, the fashions and fads of body shape, and how cultural beliefs and social norms have changed over time. Combining research from medical journals, letters, articles and the dieting bestsellers we continue to devour (including one by an octogenarian Italian in the sixteenth century), Foxcroft reveals the extreme and often absurd lengths people will go to in order to achieve the perfect body, from eating carbolic soap to deliberately swallowing tapeworm. This unique and witty history exposes the myths and anxieties that drive today’s multi-billion pound dieting industry – and offers a welcome perspective on how we can be healthy and happy in our bodies. Great reviews too….

The Twelve Knits of Christmas

Keith Smith — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:01:09 +0000

Now as well as singing the song, you can knit the characters. The Twelve Knits of Christmas brings together 12 charming knitting patterns for making all of the objects, birds, and people mentioned in the song and a beautifully illustrated book containing the words for each verse. Children will love to play with your knitted creations as you sing along together.

And the projects can double up as Christmas decorations around your home, centering on the colourful and easy-to-assemble cardboard pear tree tucked into the back of the book – a ready made roosting spot fit for the finest partridge to enjoy.

Washing Lines: A Collection of Poems

Keith Smith — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 09:40:34 +0000

Born of a shared love of washing lines and poetry, the subject of this anthology is laundry and washing, reflecting many human emotions to do with family, relationships and memory. It is a collection of over 50 poems ranging from folk songs such as Dashing Away With The Smoothing Iron to contemporary poems by renowned poets including Seamus Heaney, Gillian Clarke, Tess Gallagher and Pablo Neruda. There are also over a dozen beautiful wood engravings by artists as diverse as Clare Leighton and Clifford Harper. Alexander Lee (who has written the Afterword) has suggested that we are tapping into something far more exciting than a simple love of washing lines the current environmental and economic issues. He started Project Laundry List to campaign in America for the right to dry when he realised that 6-10% of US domestic electricity is consumed by tumble driers. So whether it is the joy of washing blowing on the line, the smell of clean linen or the rhythmic dance of two people folding sheets together, this collection is a celebration.

The Victorian Criminal

Keith Smith — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 10:47:59 +0000

From gaslit city streets to dark wooded estates, crime was rife in Victorian Britain; through a wide array of historical court records, newspaper accounts and prison books, “The Victorian Criminal” gives a fascinating overview of those involved in it. Within these pages may be found accounts of petty criminals and poachers, baby farmers and notorious murderers, along with stories of the development of detective forces and forensic techniques. Countless novels, plays and films are testament to an enduring fascination with the dark aspects of the time and place that gave us Sherlock Holmes, Wilkie Collins and the great works of Charles Dickens.

The Phantom of The Open

Keith Smith — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:50:03 +0000

When 46-year-old crane driver and former comedy stunt-diver Maurice Flitcroft chanced his way into the Open – having never before played a round of golf in his life – he ran up a record-worst score of 121. The sport’s ruling classes went nuclear, and banned him for life. Maurice didn’t take it lying down.
In a hilarious game of cat-and-mouse with The Man, he entered tournaments again – and again, and again – using increasingly ludicrous pseudonyms such as Gene Pacecki, Arnold Palmtree and Count Manfred von Hoffmanstel (more often than not disguised by a Zapata moustache soaked in food dye). In doing so, he sent the authorities into apoplexy, and won the hearts of hackers from Muirfield to Michigan, becoming arguably the most popular – but certainly the bravest – sporting underdog the world has ever known.

A Gentleman’s Guide to Beard and Moustache Management

Keith Smith — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 14:59:18 +0000

Do you know how to trim your whiskers properly? With beards and moustaches more popular than ever, this delightful little book sets out to answer this pressing question. And if a trim is not required, then it will show you how to wax, polish and maintain your face furniture so that it is always in tip-top condition. Alongside these manly grooming tips is a guide to famous facial-hair afficionados, from Karl Marx to Des Lynam; a breakdown of styles; and a perambulation through hirsute history, including an explanation of why the beard was considered sacred by the ancient Greeks.

Introducing Machiavelli : A Graphic Guide

Keith Smith — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:29:48 +0000

Illustrated guide to the crucial Italian philosopher and author of The Prince. ‘Machiavellian’ is a popular byword for treachery and opportunism. Machiavelli’s classic book on statecraft, The Prince, published over 400 years ago, remains controversial to this day because of its electrifying frankness as a practical guide to power.

Is it a how-to manual for dictators, a cynical philosophy of ‘the end justifies the means’, or a more complex and subtle analysis of successful government? Machiavelli was a loyal servant of the Florentine republic. His opposition to Medici despotism led him to torture on the rack and exile, and yet he chose as his model for the Prince the most notorious tyrant, Cesare Borgia. Introducing Machiavelli traces the colourful life of this paradoxical realist whose clear-sighted patriotism made him the first truly modern political scientist.

Machiavelli is seen as central to the postmodern debate on Civil Society. This book brings the creative turbulence of Renaissance Italy to life, and presents a compelling portrait of a key figure of European political history.

I’m 9 and I’ve Farted 46,021 Times! : Terrific Trivia About Kids Your Age

Keith Smith — Thu, 26 May 2011 13:16:46 +0000

This is a fantastic book packed with amazing facts and terrific trivia about things that kids have done when they are 9 from developing computer programmes or running a business to being an expert golfer or film star. Did you know? By the time you are nine you will have: farted 46,021 times; watched 5,475 hours of television; slept 42,829 hours and 45 minutes; and, laughed 985,500 times.

Magpies, Squirrels and Thieves: How the Victorians Collected the World

Keith Smith — Tue, 03 May 2011 10:06:33 +0000

During the nineteenth century, British collectors were among the most active, passionate and eccentric in the world. Drawing on journals, eye-witness accounts and news reports, ‘Magpies, Squirrels and Thieves’ tells the stories of some of the period’s most intriguing collectors, following their hazardous journeys across the globe. Closer to home, it explores the perils of dodgy dealing and forgery, the cut-throat world of the fashionable London market and the competitive spirit that drove the country’s collectors, to build a picture of a fascinating world in the midst of change. From John Charles Robinson, curator of the new South Kensington Museum (known to us now as the Victoria and Albert) and his struggles with his superiors over the direction of the museum’s collections, to Charlotte Schreiber, an aristocrat who shocked London Society by her marriages, first to an industrialist, and subsequently to the tutor of her children; from silversmith Joseph Mayer in London and Liverpool to doctor Stephen Wootton Bushell in Beijing, Jacqueline Yallop traces the development of Victorian Britain’s obsession with the collecting of beautiful things, both private and public. Along the way she explores how the modern roles of dealer, collector and curator emerged; the expansion of local and provincial museums; how collecting became a middleclass pastime, rather than being confined to the aristocracy, while the involvement of women and the impact of empire expanded the notions of what was collectable: from china and the oriental decorative arts to fans and playing cards. And we see how the Victorian era saw the emergence of a newfound obsession with things, with possessions and how they reveal our taste and status to others – one that remains with us to this day.