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- Sceptre
- Sceptre
- Hodder & Stoughton
Narrator
Melvyn BraggRuntime
2hr 45m
British Empire, Language, Language: history & general works, Dialect, slang & jargon, Prose: non-fiction, History, General & world history, History: earliest times to present day
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Imprint
Sceptre
- Paperback Apr 14, 2005 | 9780340829936 | RRP $24.99 Buy Now
- e-Book Dec 21, 2011 | 9781444718683 | RRP $11.99 Buy Now
- Audiobook Nov 25, 2009 | 9781444710120 | RRP $17.99 Buy Now
Play Sample0:00 -
Imprint
Sceptre
- Paperback Apr 14, 2005 | 9780340829936 | RRP $24.99 Buy Now
- e-Book Dec 21, 2011 | 9781444718683 | RRP $11.99 Buy Now
- Audiobook Nov 25, 2009 | 9781444710120 | RRP $17.99 Buy Now
Play Sample0:00 -
Imprint
Hodder & Stoughton
- Paperback Apr 14, 2005 | 9780340829936 | RRP $24.99 Buy Now
- e-Book Dec 21, 2011 | 9781444718683 | RRP $11.99 Buy Now
- Audiobook Nov 25, 2009 | 9781444710120 | RRP $17.99 Buy Now
Play Sample0:00
Melvyn Bragg's fascinating biography of the English language.
English is the collective work of millions of people throughout the ages. It is democratic, ever-changing 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. 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 global language. 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.
Praise for The Adventure Of English: The Biography of a Language
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Melvyn Bragg's superb new history of the English language is told as an adventure story, and rightly so. There is much splendid intellectual firepower in this book. - Andrew Roberts, Spectator
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Concise as well as learned...Melvyn Bragg takes the high road and strides confidently through the origins and growth of English. It gives us an impressive and sage view of the big picture. - Robert Winder, New Statesman
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Bragg is an expert translator in areas that academics find difficult to popularise...he produces a pithy, accessible narrative. - Guardian
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This breathless tale of the English language is one of struggle, resilience and triumph - Irish Times
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Beautifully clear and, indeed, thrilling - Waterstone's Books Quarterly
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Bragg's approachable account gleams with little gems. It has power and clarity...rewarding. - Sunday Herald
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Always readable, often thought-provoking, and consistently entertaining. - Independent
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This is a highly readable, jargon-free treatise on a notoriously prickly subject. Bragg's affection for his subject is infectious. In this he successfully joins a long tradition of gentleman enthusiasts from peppery Dr Johnson to genial James Murray. - Observer
Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg was born in Wigton, Cumbria, in 1939. He went to the local Grammar School and then to Wadham College, Oxford. He joined the BBC in 1961, and published his first novel, For Want of a Nail, in 1965.
He left the BBC and continued to write novels which include The Soldier's Return (WH Smith Literary Award), Without a City Wall (Mail on Sunday John Llewellyn Rhys Prize) and Now Is the Time (Parliamentary Book Award 2016). A Place in England, Son of War and Crossing the Lines were all nominated for the Booker Prize. His non-fiction includes The Adventure of English and The Book of Books, and his first memoir, Back in the Day, was published in 2022 to critical acclaim.
He edited and presented The South Bank Show from 1977 and hosted the BBC Radio 4 programme In Our Time from 1998. He has now retired from both. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society and of The British Academy. He was given a Peerage in 1998 and a Companion of Honour in 2017.
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