'My first English lesson was grammar with the terrifying Mrs Petrie. She spent the entire time marching up and down the classroom, thwacking various items of school furniture with a ruler while she banged on about the ING part of the verb. I sat there, vibrating with fear, desperately trying to figure out what on earth she could mean. Irregular Negative Gerund? Intransitive Nominative Genitive? It was only years later, when I was teaching English to foreign students, that I realised that E...

'Witty and erudite ... stuffed with the kind of arcane information that nobody strictly needs to know, but which is a pleasure to learn nonetheless.' Nick Duerden, Independent.'Particularly good ... Forsyth takes words and draws us into their, and our, murky history.' William Leith, Evening Standard.The Etymologicon is an occasionally ribald, frequently witty and unerringly erudite guided tour of the secret labyrinth that lurks beneath the English language.What is t...

The phenomenal number one bestseller and a major BBC TV series.A Richard and Judy Book Club Pick.Winner of the Specsavers National Book Award and Waterstones Book of the Year.**Beautiful, intoxicating and filled with heart-pounding suspense, Jessie Burton's historical novel set in Amsterdam, The Miniaturist, is a story of love and obsession, betrayal and retribution.'Completely immerses the reader in ...

Now a major TV series Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2012 Winner of the 2012 Costa Book of the Year Shortlisted for the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction‘Simply exceptional…I envy anyone who hasn’t yet read it’ Daily Mail‘A gripping story of tumbling fury and terror’ Independent on SundayWith this historic win for Bring Up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel becomes the first British author and the first woman to be aw...

What is psychology? When did it begin? Where did it come from? How does psychology compare with related subjects such as psychiatry and psychotherapy? To what extent is it scientific?Introducing Psychology answers all these questions and more, explaining what the subject has been in the past and what it is now. The main "schools" of thought and the sections within psychology are described, including Introspection, Biopsychology, Psychoanaly...

Collins Webster’s Easy Learning Grammar is an accessible guide to English grammar and punctuation.With clear, concise explanations on everything from adverbs to word order, and from apostrophes to semicolons, this e-book is indispensable for understanding correct usage.Collins Webster’s Easy Learning Grammar is a uniquely helpful guide to all areas of English grammar and punctuation, providing clear guidance through the intricacies of the English language.Each gramm...

Oxford Modern English Grammar is Oxford's brand new and definitive guide to English grammar. This book has been written by a leading expert in the field, covers both British and American English, and makes use of authentic spoken and written examples. Arranged in four clear parts for ease of use, its comprehensive coverage ranges from the very basic to the most complex aspects of grammar, all of which are explained clearly yet authoritatively. This descriptive source of reference is invalu...

From minding your Ps and Qs to wondering why X should mark the spot, Alphabetical is a book for everyone who loves words and language. Whether it's how letters are arranged on keyboards or Viking runes, textspeak or zip codes, this book will change the way you think about letters for ever.How on Earth did we fix upon our twenty-six letters, what do they really mean, and how did we come to write them down in the first place? Michael Rosen takes you on an unforgettable adven...

Us: a brilliant, bittersweet novel about love and family, husbands and wives, parents and children | Longlisted for the Booker Prize'Perfect'INDEPENDENT'I honestly can't imagine loving a novel much more'SUNDAY TIMES'I loved this book. Funny, sad, tender: for anyone who wants to know what happens after the Happy Ever After'JOJO MOYESDouglas and Connie - scient...

There aren't any zombies (yet), but the world is still at the brink of destruction: It's 2028 and global warming has led to rising oceans, crazy weather, and resource scarcity. On top of that, someone just turned the Internet off. Seeing as how it's humanity's last chance to turn things around manners are a bit frayed.Bookish etiquette buff Olive O'Malley is busy microfarming her urban property and minding her own business (and her chickens) when the government comes calling. Their...

Two dreamers discover a connection that reaches across history in this award-winning sci-fi romantic thriller: "A mind-explosion of a journey" (Refinery29).World-famous artist Bryan Pierce never reveals the secret to his success. His paintings are all inspired by strangely vivid dreams that he believes to be memories from another life—and he hopes his art will lead him to an answer. And when he meets Linz Jacobs, a neurogenticist who recognizes a recurring childhood...

In this unique new history of the world's most ubiquitous language, linguistics expert David Crystal draws on words that best illustrate the huge variety of sources, influences and events that have helped to shape our vernacular since the first definitively English word was written down in the fifth century ('roe', in case you are wondering). Featuring Latinate and Celtic words, weasel words and nonce-words, ancient words ('loaf') to cutting edge ('twittersphere') and spanning the indispen...