Gavin Weightman's Books

Eureka

How Invention Happens

By: Gavin Weightman

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Eureka

How Invention Happens

By: Gavin Weightman

Tracing the long pre-history of five twentieth-century inventions which have transformed our lives, Gavin Weightman reveals a fantastic cast of scientists and inspired amateurs whose ingenuity has given us the airplane, television, bar code, personal computer, and mobile phone. Not one of these inventions can be attributed to a lone genius who experiences a moment of inspiration. Nearly all innovations exist in the imagination before they are finally made to work by the hard graft of inventors who draw on the discoveries of others. While the discoveries of scientists have provided vital knowledge which has made innovation possible, it is a revelation of Weightman’s study that it is more often than not the amateur who enjoys the “eureka moment” when an invention works for the first time. Filled with fascinating stories of struggle, rivalry, and the ingenuity of both famous inventors and hundreds of forgotten people, Weightman’s captivating work is a triumph of storytelling that offers a fresh take on the making of our modern world.

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Page Count

295

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

030021605X

ISBN 13

9780300216059

The Industrial Revolutionaries

The Making of the Modern World, 1776–1914

By: Gavin Weightman

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The Industrial Revolutionaries

The Making of the Modern World, 1776–1914

By: Gavin Weightman

“Anyone with a passing interest in economic history will thoroughly enjoy” this account of how industry transformed the world (The Seattle Times). In less than one hundred and fifty years, an unlikely band of scientists, spies, entrepreneurs, and political refugees took a world made of wood and powered by animals, wind, and water, and made it into something entirely new, forged of steel and iron, and powered by steam and fossil fuels. This “entertaining and informative” account weaves together the dramatic stories of giants such as Edison, Watt, Wedgwood, and Daimler with lesser-known or entirely forgotten characters, including a group of Japanese samurai who risked their lives to learn the secrets of the West, and John “Iron Mad” Wilkinson, who didn’t let war between England and France stop him from plumbing Paris (The Wall Street Journal). “Integrating lively biography with technological clarity, Weightman converts the Industrial Revolution into an enjoyably readable period of history.” —Booklist “Skillfully stitching together thumbnail sketches of a large number of inventors, architects, engineers, and visionaries. . . . Weightman expertly marshals his cast of characters across continents and centuries, forging a genuinely global history that brings the collaborative, if competitive, business of industrial innovation to life.” —The New York Times Book Review

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Page Count

432

Publisher

Open Road + Grove/Atlantic

Published Date

ISBN 10

1555848850

ISBN 13

9781555848859

The Great Inoculator

The Untold Story of Daniel Sutton and his Medical Revolution

By: Gavin Weightman

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The Great Inoculator

The Untold Story of Daniel Sutton and his Medical Revolution

By: Gavin Weightman

Smallpox was the scourge of the eighteenth century: it showed no mercy, almost wiping out whole societies. Young and old, poor and royalty were equally at risk – unless they had survived a previous attack. Daniel Sutton, a young surgeon from Suffolk, used this knowledge to pioneer a simple and effective inoculation method to counter the disease. His technique paved the way for Edward Jenner’s discovery of vaccination – but, while Jenner is revered, Sutton has been vilified for not widely revealing his methods until later in life. Gavin Weightman reclaims Sutton’s importance, showing how the clinician’s practical and observational discoveries advanced understanding of the nature of disease. Weightman explores Sutton’s personal and professional development, and the wider world of eighteenth-century health in which he practised inoculation. Sutton’s brilliant and exacting mind had a significant impact on medicine – the effects of which can still be seen today.

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Page Count

213

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0300256310

ISBN 13

9780300256314

Signor Marconi's Magic Box

The Most Remarkable Invention Of The 19th Century & The Amateur Inventor Whose Genius Sparked A Revo

By: Gavin Weightman

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Signor Marconi's Magic Box

The Most Remarkable Invention Of The 19th Century & The Amateur Inventor Whose Genius Sparked A Revo

By: Gavin Weightman

The world at the turn of the twentieth century was in the throes of "Marconi-mania"-brought on by an incredible invention that no one could quite explain, and by a dapper and eccentric figure (who would one day win the newly minted Nobel Prize) at the center of it all. At a time when the telephone, telegraph, and electricity made the whole world wonder just what science would think of next, the startling answer had come in 1896 in the form of two mysterious wooden boxes containing a device one Guglielmo Marconi had rigged up to transmit messages "through the ether." It was the birth of the radio, and no scientist in Europe or America, not even Marconi himself, could at first explain how it worked -- it just did. And no one knew how far these radio waves could travel, until 1903, when a message from President Theodore Roosevelt to the king of England flashed from Cape Cod to Cornwall clear across the Atlantic.Here is a rich portrait of the man and his era-and a captivating tale of science and scientists, business and businessmen. There are stories of British blowhards, American con artists-and Marconi himself: a character par excellence, who eventually winds up a virtual prisoner of his worldwide fame and fortune.

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362

Publisher

Da Capo Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786748540

ISBN 13

9780786748549

Children of Light

How Electricity Changed Britain Forever

By: Gavin Weightman

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Children of Light

How Electricity Changed Britain Forever

By: Gavin Weightman

In the early 1870's a nighttime view over Britain would have revealed towns lit by the warm glow of gas and oil lamps and a much darker countryside, the only light emanating from the fiery sparks of late running steam trains. However, by the end of this same decade,Victorian Britons would experience a new brilliance in their streets, town halls, and other public places. Electricity had come to town. In Children of Light, Gavin Weightman brings to life not just the most celebrated electrical pioneers, such as Thomas Edison, but also the men such as Rookes Crompton who lit Henley Regatta in 1879; Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti, a direct descendant of one of the Venetian Doges, who built Britain's first major power station on the Thames at Deptford; and Anglo&–Irish aristocrat, Charles Parsons inventor of the steam turbine, which revolutionized the generating of electricity. Children of Light takes in the electrification of the tramways and the London Underground, the transformation of the home with "labor saving" devices, the vital modernizing of industry during two world wars, and the battles between environmentalists and the promoters of electric power, which began in earnest when the first pylons went up. As Children of Light shows, the electric revolution has brought us luxury that would have astonished the Victorians, but at a price we are still having to pay.

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Page Count

331

Publisher

Atlantic Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0857893009

ISBN 13

9780857893000

Signor Marconi’s Magic Box: The invention that sparked the radio revolution (Text Only)

By: Gavin Weightman

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Signor Marconi’s Magic Box: The invention that sparked the radio revolution (Text Only)

By: Gavin Weightman

The intriguing story of how wireless was invented by Guglielmo Marconi – and how it amused Queen Victoria, saved the lives of the Titanic survivors, tracked down criminals and began the radio revolution.

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Page Count

338

Publisher

HarperCollins UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

0007402252

ISBN 13

9780007402250

Chemical Engineering Design

Principles, Practice and Economics of Plant and Process Design

By: Gavin Towler,Ray Sinnott

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Chemical Engineering Design

Principles, Practice and Economics of Plant and Process Design

By: Gavin Towler,Ray Sinnott

Chemical Engineering Design: Principles, Practice and Economics of Plant and Process Design is one of the best-known and most widely adopted texts available for students of chemical engineering. The text deals with the application of chemical engineering principles to the design of chemical processes and equipment. The third edition retains its hallmark features of scope, clarity and practical emphasis, while providing the latest US codes and standards, including API, ASME and ISA design codes and ANSI standards, as well as coverage of the latest aspects of process design, operations, safety, loss prevention, equipment selection, and more. The text is designed for chemical and biochemical engineering students (senior undergraduate year, plus appropriate for capstone design courses where taken), and professionals in industry (chemical process, biochemical, pharmaceutical, petrochemical sectors). - Provides students with a text of unmatched relevance for chemical process and plant design courses and for the final year capstone design course - Written by practicing design engineers with extensive undergraduate teaching experience - Contains more than 100 typical industrial design projects drawn from a diverse range of process industries NEW TO THIS EDITION - Includes new content covering food, pharmaceutical and biological processes and commonly used unit operations - Provides updates on plant and equipment costs, regulations and technical standards - Includes limited online access for students to Cost Engineering's Cleopatra Enterprise cost estimating software

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Page Count

1041

Publisher

Butterworth-Heinemann

Published Date

ISBN 10

0323850480

ISBN 13

9780323850483

English for Journalists

Thirtieth Anniversary Edition

By: Wynford Hicks,Gavin Allen

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English for Journalists

Thirtieth Anniversary Edition

By: Wynford Hicks,Gavin Allen

English for Journalists has established itself in newsrooms the world over as an invaluable guide to the basics of English and to those aspects of writing, such as reporting speech, house style and jargon, which are specific to the language of journalism. Written in a highly accessible and engaging style, English for Journalists covers the fundamentals of grammar, spelling, punctuation and journalistic writing, with all points illustrated through a series of concise and illuminating examples. The book features practical, easy-to-follow advice with examples of common mistakes and problem words. This thirtieth anniversary edition features a revised first chapter on the state of English today by author Wynford Hicks, and a chapter on writing for social media by Gavin Allen, along with an updated glossary and references. This is an essential guide to written English for practising journalists and students of journalism today.

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Page Count

235

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Published Date

ISBN 10

1000895408

ISBN 13

9781000895407

Intellectuals and (Counter-) Politics

Essays in Historical Realism

By: Gavin Smith

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Intellectuals and (Counter-) Politics

Essays in Historical Realism

By: Gavin Smith

Contemporary forms of capitalism and the state require close analytic attention to reveal the conditions of possibility for effective counter-politics. On the other hand the practice of collective politics needs to be studied through historical ethnography if we are to understand what might make people’s actions effective. This book suggests a research agenda designed to maximize the political leverage of ordinary people faced with ever more remote states and technologies that make capitalism increasingly rapacious. Gavin Smith opens and closes this series of interlinked essays by proposing a concise framework for untangling what he calls “the society of capital” and subsequently a potentially controversial way of seeing its contemporary features. This book tackles the political conundrums of our times and asks what roles intellectuals might play therein.

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254

Publisher

Berghahn Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

1782383018

ISBN 13

9781782383017

The Absence of America

The London Stage, 1576-1642

By: Gavin Hollis

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The Absence of America

The London Stage, 1576-1642

By: Gavin Hollis

The Absence of America: the London Stage 1576-1642 looks at London theatre at the time of Shakespeare and how it represented the New World, considering whether early modern drama was anti-American, as some contemporaries suggested.

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275

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0198734328

ISBN 13

9780198734321

Shropshire

By: John Newman,Nikolaus Pevsner,Gavin Watson

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Shropshire

By: John Newman,Nikolaus Pevsner,Gavin Watson

This fully-illustrated guide to Shropshire treats each city, town, and village in a detailed gazetteer and includes a variety of helpful maps, plans, and indexes along with an illustrated glossary. The book is an invaluable reference work on the appealing and unspoiled county of Shropshire, where many historic towns, including Shrewsbury and Ludlow, are especially plentiful in Georgian and timber-framed buildings. Shropshire boasts the Cistercian abbey of Buildwas and many important country houses, including the 13th-century fortified mansions at Acton Burnell and Stokesay; John Nash's Italianate villa at Cronkhill; and Norman Shaw's splendid Late Victorian mansion at Adcote. Shropshire is also home to numerous prehistoric hill-forts and the Roman town at Wroxeter as well as Coalbrookdale's spectacular bridge, the first in the world to be built of iron. The unspoiled county of Shropshire is among the most appealing in England for lovers of architecture. The county's many historic towns, of which Shrewsbury and Ludlow are the largest, are especially plentiful in Georgian and timber-framed buildings. Shropshire's villages, intriguingly varied in plan and building materials, reflect the diverse landscape of plains, hills and moorland and the rich and complex underlying geology. The Cistercian abbey of Buildwas is the finest of several notable monastic ruins, and outstanding medieval parish churches and castles are also numerous. Many of the country houses have a central place in the story of English architecture: the fortified mansions at Acton Burnell and Stokesay, thirteenth-century design at its most sophisticated; the vigorous Baroque houses of John Prince and Francis Smith; John Nash's Italianate villa at Cronkhill, looking like something in a Claude painting; Norman Shaw's splendid Late Victorian mansion at Adcote. Shropshire is also unrivalled for its early industrial remains, including the spectacular bridge at Coalbrookdale, the first in the world to be built of iron. More ancient cultures are represented by the numerous prehistoric hill-forts and the celebrated Roman town at Wroxeter. Each city, town or village is treated in a detailed gazetteer. A general introduction provides a historical and artistic overview. Numerous maps and plans, over a hundred new colour photographs, full indexes and an illustrated glossary help to make this book invaluable as both reference work and guide.

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Page Count

886

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0300120834

ISBN 13

9780300120837

Beyond Phenomenology

Rethinking the Study of Religion

By: Gavin Flood

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Beyond Phenomenology

Rethinking the Study of Religion

By: Gavin Flood

This book argues that the understanding and explanation of religion is always historically contingent. Grounded in the work of Bakhtin and Ricoeur, Flood positions the academic study of religion within contemporary debates in the social sciences and humanities concerning modernity and postmodernity, particularly contested issues regarding truth and knowledge. It challenges the view that religions are privileged, epistemic objects, argues for the importance of metatheory, and presents an argument for the dialogical nature of inquiry. The study of religion should begin with language and culture, and this shift in emphasis to the philosophy of the sign in hermeneutics and away from the philosophy of consciousness in phenomenology has far-reaching implications. It means a new ethic of practice which is sensitive to the power relationship in any epistemology; it opens the door to feminist and postcolonial critique, and it provides a methodology which allows for the interface between religious studies, theology, and the social sciences.

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Page Count

320

Publisher

A&C Black

Published Date

ISBN 10

0304705705

ISBN 13

9780304705702

Lifestyle Wellness Coaching-3rd Edition

By: Gavin, James,Mcbrearty, Madeleine

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Lifestyle Wellness Coaching-3rd Edition

By: Gavin, James,Mcbrearty, Madeleine

Lifestyle Wellness Coaching, Third Edition With Web Resource, offers an evidence-based and systematic coaching methodology that professionals can use to help clients achieve long-term overall wellness by addressing health, fitness, and lifestyle.

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Page Count

280

Publisher

Human Kinetics

Published Date

ISBN 10

1492559636

ISBN 13

9781492559634

Chemical Engineering Design

SI Edition

By: Ray Sinnott,Gavin Towler

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Chemical Engineering Design

SI Edition

By: Ray Sinnott,Gavin Towler

Chemical Engineering Design: SI Edition is one of the best-known and most widely used textbooks available for students of chemical engineering. The enduring hallmarks of this classic book are its scope and practical emphasis which make it particularly popular with instructors and students who appreciate its relevance and clarity. This new edition provides coverage of the latest aspects of process design, operations, safety, loss prevention, equipment selection, and much more, including updates on plant and equipment costs, regulations and technical standards. - Includes new content covering food, pharmaceutical and biological processes and the unit operations commonly used - Features expanded coverage on the design of reactors - Provides updates on plant and equipment costs, regulations and technical standards - Integrates coverage with Honeywell's UniSim® software for process design and simulation - Includes online access to Engineering's Cleopatra cost estimating software

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Page Count

1296

Publisher

Butterworth-Heinemann

Published Date

ISBN 10

0081026005

ISBN 13

9780081026007

Signor Marconi’s Magic Box: The invention that sparked the radio revolution (Text Only)

By: Gavin Weightman

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Signor Marconi’s Magic Box: The invention that sparked the radio revolution (Text Only)

By: Gavin Weightman

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Page Count

338

Publisher

HarperCollins UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

0007402252

ISBN 13

9780007402250

The Great Inoculator

The Untold Story of Daniel Sutton and His Medical Revolution

By: Gavin Weightman

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The Great Inoculator

The Untold Story of Daniel Sutton and His Medical Revolution

By: Gavin Weightman

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Page Count

213

Publisher

Yale University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0300241445

ISBN 13

9780300241440

London's Thames

The River That Shaped a City and Its History

By: Gavin Weightman

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London's Thames

The River That Shaped a City and Its History

By: Gavin Weightman

Without the Thames, there would be no London or England. From earliest times, the city's needs--whether for stone, gold, or coal, for hay to feed livestock or food, wine and spices for human beings--were supplied from the river, as the fierce tides brought ships upstream or carried them down again. Only with the age of trunk road and rail did London's global importance as a port diminish. Even after that the tides continued to drive the great power stations. Gavin Weightman's fascinating book London's Thames, a compendium of often surprising information, is the best possible introduction to the water and its ways, the buildings that line the banks, and the people who lived by the river, their customs and ancient knowledge. Everything is to be found here: trade and tide, lightermen, watermen and dockers, bridges, funnels and ferries, frost fairs and regattas, clear water, fish and wildlife, pollution and waste, fortification and defense. Above all, one feels the presence of the great waterway itself, a force of nature in our urban midst.

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Page Count

179

Publisher

St. Martin's Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1466862181

ISBN 13

9781466862180

The Frozen Water Trade (Text Only)

By: Gavin Weightman

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The Frozen Water Trade (Text Only)

By: Gavin Weightman

The story of the 19th-century ice trade, in which ice from the lakes of New England – valued for its incredible purity – revolutionised domestic life around the world.

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Page Count

209

Publisher

HarperCollins UK

Published Date

ISBN 10

0007375948

ISBN 13

9780007375943

Signor Marconi's Magic Box

The Most Remarkable Invention Of The 19th Century & The Amateur Inventor Whose Genius Sparked A Revo

By: Gavin Weightman

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Signor Marconi's Magic Box

The Most Remarkable Invention Of The 19th Century & The Amateur Inventor Whose Genius Sparked A Revo

By: Gavin Weightman

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Page Count

362

Publisher

Da Capo Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0786748540

ISBN 13

9780786748549

The Industrial Revolutionaries

The Making of the Modern World 1776-1914

By: Gavin Weightman

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The Industrial Revolutionaries

The Making of the Modern World 1776-1914

By: Gavin Weightman

Weightman expertly marshals his cast of characters across continents and centuries, forging a genuinely global history that brings the collaborative, if competitive, business of industrial innovation to life."---The New York Times Book Review In less than one hundred and fifty years, an unlikely band of scientists, spies, entrepreneurs, and political refugees took a world made of wood and powered by animals, wind, and water, and made it into something entirely new, forged of steel and iron, and powered by steam and fossil fuels. In The Industrial Revolutionaries, a sweeping, critically acclaimed history of this transformation, Gavin Weightman weaves together the dramatic stories of giants such as Edison, Watt, Wedgwood, and Daimler, with lesser-known or entirely forgotten characters. Distilling complex technical achievements, outlandish figures, and daring adventure, The Industrial Revolutionaries is a remarkable, original history of a changing world. "Integrating lively biography with technological clarity, Weightman converts the Industrial Revolution into an enjoyable readable period of history."---Booklist

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Page Count

422

Published Date

ISBN 10

0802144845

ISBN 13

9780802144843

The Frozen Water Trade

How Ice from New England Lakes Kept the World Cool

By: Gavin Weightman

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The Frozen Water Trade

How Ice from New England Lakes Kept the World Cool

By: Gavin Weightman

This work tells the story of the 19th-century ice trade, in which ice from New England - valued for its incredible purity - had a profound influence on international trade in fruit and fish and all kinds of perishable foodstuffs. In the days before refrigeration, the frozen water trade (blocks of ice cut from the lakes of New England) kept America, Britain and many parts of the Empire cool - and helped preserve all kinds of foodstuffs.

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Page Count

200

Published Date

ISBN 10

0007102852

ISBN 13

9780007102853

The Case of the £5 Virgin

The True Story of a Victorian Scandal

By: Gavin Weightman

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The Case of the £5 Virgin

The True Story of a Victorian Scandal

By: Gavin Weightman

In 1885 the editor of the Pall Mall Gazette published an account of a girl of thirteen being sold by her mother to a brothel, where her virginity would be highly prized. The editor was W T Stead, and his audacious scoop was telegraphed around the world. What became know as the story of the 5 virgin - the price that Stead claimed had been paid for the girl - was a sensation, one of the greatest scandals of the Victorian era. But was the story a 'put up job' as the playwright George Bernard Shaw judged it? With meticulous detective work Gavin Weightman has pieced together the true story of how the W T Stead, hero of the moral purity campaigners, fell victim to his own salacious imagination and wound up in the dock at the Old Bailey. At the heart of the story is an innocent cockney girl who later found immortality as the model for Eliza Doolittle in Shaw's most popular play, Pygmalion (My Fair Lady).

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Page Count

180

Publisher

Backstory

Published Date

ISBN 10

0956246222

ISBN 13

9780956246226

Book's by Gavin Weightman

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