For anyone who wants to make fewer (not less) grammar mistakes, this “passionate, enlightening, and easily navigable manual is certainly the right book at the right time” (Publishers Weekly)—reminiscent of the New York Times bestseller Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Our language is changing, literary levels are declining, and our grasp of grammar is at a crisis point. From commas to colons, apostrophes to adverbs, there are countless ways we can make mistakes when writing or speaking. But do not despair! Great Britain’s most popular grammar guru has created the ultimate modern manual for English speakers on both sides of the Atlantic. In this “irreverent and conversational” (Booklist) guide to proper punctuation and so much more, Gyles Brandreth explores the linguistic horrors of our times, tells us what we’ve been doing wrong, and shows us how to can get it right every time. Covering everything from dangling participles to transitive verbs, from age-old conundrums like “lay” vs. “lie,” to the confounding influences of social media on our everyday language, Have You Eaten Grandma? is an endlessly useful and entertaining resource for all.
Laugh yourself silly in this fantastic collection of jokes and riddles! WHAT'S BLACK AND WHITE AND RED ALL OVER? An embarrassed Penguin A sunburnt elephant A newspaper! Did those jokes make you laugh? Make you groan? Maybe a bit of both? There's a lot more where they came from. Collected here by jokesmith Gyles Brandreth are some of the best and worst jokes ever (plus a few riddles to keep you on your toes). From 'Knock, knock' to 'Waiter waiter', with some funny elephants and giraffes thrown in for good measure, there's also a bit of expert joke advice, so you can show others just how funny you can be! 'Very funny, and often outright silly' Guardian on Have You Eaten Grandma by Gyles Brandreth
____________________________________________________________________________________ THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER 'It is a beautifully written book about a unique and extraordinary man who was the longest-serving consort to the longest reigning monarch in British history. I have read many other books about Philip but this is the best.' - DAILY EXPRESS 'Gloriously witty and incisive' - DAILY MAIL 'It's bloody brilliant, totally inspiring ... it's a joy to read a book that comes from a perspective of fondness. There are whole pages I want to read to the kids and stick to the fridge.' - KIRSTIE ALLSOPP, THE TIMES 'As a sparkling celebration of Prince Philip, the book will be hard to beat' - THE TELEGRAPH 'Brandreth explores a temperament on the brink of anger and agitation with immense tact, even affection.' - THE SPECTATOR 'This affectionate biography of Prince Philip is stuffed with entertaining anecdotes ... so readable and refreshing even after the millions of words that have been written about Prince Philip in the past couple of weeks.' - THE TIMES 'Brilliant... there is so much in this book you won't find anywhere else.' - LORRAINE 'A stately, respectful and joyful tribute. It is an extraordinary story, told with unique insight and authority by an author who knew him for more than 40 years.' - EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS 'A warm, affectionate portrait of the much-missed Duke ... a rich source of insights and anecdotes.' - SAGA MAGAZINE ______________________________________________________________________________________ This is the story of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh - the longest-serving consort to the longest-reigning sovereign in British history. It is an extraordinary story, told with unique insight and authority by an author who knew the prince for more than forty years. Philip - elusive, complex, controversial, challenging, often humorous, sometimes irascible - is the man Elizabeth II once described as her 'constant strength and guide'. Who was he? What was he really like? What is the truth about those 'gaffes' and the rumours of affairs? This is the final portrait of an unexpected and often much-misunderstood figure. It is also the portrait of a remarkable marriage that endured for more than seventy years. Philip and Elizabeth were both royal by birth, both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria, but, in temperament and upbringing, they were two very different people. The Queen's childhood was loving and secure, the Duke's was turbulent; his grandfather assassinated, his father arrested, his family exiled, his parents separated when he was only ten. Elizabeth and Philip met as cousins in the 1930s. They married in 1947, aged twenty-one and twenty-six. Philip: The Final Portrait tells the story of two contrasting lives, assesses the Duke of Edinburgh's character and achievement, and explores the nature of his relationships with his wife, his children and their families - and with the press and public and those at court who were suspicious of him in the early days. This is a powerful, revealing and, ultimately, moving account of a long life and a remarkable royal partnership.
This is the ultimate anthology of theatrical anecdotes, edited by lifelong theatre-lover Gyles Brandreth in the Oxford tradition, and covering every kind of theatrical story and experience from the age of Shakespeare and Marlowe to the age of Stoppard and Mamet, from Richard Burbage to Richard Briers, from Nell Gwynn to Daniel Day-Lewis, from Sarah Bernhardt to Judi Dench. Players, playwrights, prompters, producers—they all feature. The Oxford Book of Theatrical Anecdotes provides a comprehensive, revealing, and hugely entertaining portrait of the world of theatre across four hundred years. Many of the anecdotes are humorous: all have something pertinent and illuminating to say about an aspect of theatrical life—whether it is the art of playwriting, the craft of covering up missed cues, the drama of the First Night, the nightmare of touring, or the secret ingredients of star quality. Edmund Kean, Henry Irving, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Ellen Terry, Edith Evans, Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren—the great 'names' are all here, of course, but there are tales of the unexpected, too—and the unknown. This is a book—presented in five acts, with a suitably anecdotal and personal prologue from Gyles Brandreth—where, once in a while, the understudy takes centre-stage and Gyles Brandreth treats triumph and disaster just the same, including stories from the tattiest touring companies as well as from Broadway, the West End and theatres, large and small, in Australia, India, and across Europe.
The compelling, witty and remarkably honest autobiography from beloved star of Just a Minute, QI, Have I Got News For You and Celebrity Gogglebox THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Hilarious, ribald, eye-popping, unforgettable, will make you laugh out loud' DAILY MAIL 'Warm, witty, charming. A moving and very affectionate family history. An enthusiast for life' THE TIMES ________ Enter the world of Gyles Brandreth - broadcaster, actor, writer, former politician - as he takes us on an extraordinary journey into his past. From growing up in an apparently well-to-do but strapped-for-cash middle-class English family to his adventures in swinging London, Gyles encounters princes, presidents, pop stars and prime ministers, gets involved in everything from setting up Scrabble championships to examining Danish sex shops, and thrills us with countless tales of family, friends and acquaintances, both famous and infamous. Filled with incredible and sometimes shocking stories, Odd Boy Out is the story of Gyles Brandreth's fascinating life told with his unique wit and charm. ________ 'Staggeringly brilliant, funny and touching, I loved it' JOANNA LUMLEY 'Light-hearted and dark events alike are described with his customary jaunty style, making them funny, moving an sometimes deeply shocking ' Sheila Hancock
No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were poor but honest.' Only words can do that. Words are magic. Words are fun. Join Gyles Brandreth - wit and word-meister, Just A Minute regular, One Show reporter, denizen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, founder of the National Scrabble Championships, patron of The Queen's English Society, QI, Room 101, Have I Got News For You and Pointless survivor - on an uproarious and unexpected magic carpet ride around the awesome world of words and wordplay. Puns, palindromes, pangrams, Malaprops, euphemisms, mnemonics, acronyms, anagrams, alphabeticals, Tweets, verbiage, verbarrhea - if you can name it, you should find it here, along with the longest, shortest, wittiest, wildest, oldest, latest, oddest, most interesting and most memorable words in the English language - the richest, most remarkable language ever known.
DIVDIVLovable British comedian Gyles Brandreth’s look at the pursuit of happiness and why it matters—refreshingly free of wishy-washy, feel-good mumbo-jumbo and full of straightforward, down-to-earth guidance/divDIV On June 17, 2013, Gyles Brandreth delivered the Baggs Memorial Lecture at the University of Birmingham—an annual conference on the theme of happiness and how it can be achieved. His speech was met with thunderous applause and a widespread demand to know more about the secrets of being happy, so he set about writing this poignant book of truths, sprinkled with British wit and humor throughout./divDIV With extensive research backing him, Brandreth travels the world over and meets numerous luminary figures, asking the questions: What is happiness? Who gets to be happy? For the queen of Denmark, it is finding happiness in routine; for Sheikh Raschid al Maktoum, it is the certainty of being confident in yourself when others doubt you; for Rod Stewart, it is taking pleasure in the simple things./divDIV Through fascinating anecdotes by the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Anthony Clare, Brandreth explains why you need to know the seven secrets of happiness and why you need them now./divDIV/div/div
London. 1894. 'I am not a detective, chief constable.' 'No, but you are a poet, a freemason and a man of the world. All useful qualifications for the business in hand.' So says Police Chief Macnaghten to Oscar Wilde, in a Chelsea drawing room in the company of Arthur Conan Doyle. The business they are gathered to discuss is none other than the case of Jack the Ripper, the most notorious murderer in England. And thus the three men set out to solve one of the world's most famous mysteries - the ultimate truth about the identity of Jack the Ripper. Case Closed is Arthur Conan Doyle's account of the events of 1894, the year of the return of Jack the Ripper. Based on Oscar Wilde's real-life friendship with Conan Doyle and the extraordinary but little-known fact that in 1894 the detective in charge of the Jack the Ripper investigations was Oscar Wilde's neighbour in Tite Street, Chelsea, this is a revelatory and gripping detective story, combining the intrigue of a classic murder mystery with a witty and compelling portrait of one of the greatest characters of the Victorian age.
A whirlwind tour of the joys of English, by the master of concision and wit.’ – Susie Dent ‘Gyles is very funny – and never lost for words!’ – Dame Judi Dench As fans of Just a Minute know, the key to the game is knowing your way around the English language: how it works, how it’s evolved, and how words connect, often in surprising ways. When it comes to the English language (and Just a Minute), Gyles Brandreth has seen it all – and now he’s ready to put you through your linguistic paces, to become a Just a Minute expert yourself. In this wildly entertaining A to Z of verbal acrobatics, Gyles takes you on a whirlwind tour of our mother tongue – from the origins of words and correct grammar and punctuation, to similes, euphemisms and record breaking tongue twisters (try getting your mouth around floccinaucinihilipification!). An idiosyncratic blend of history, word play, anecdote, and hyperbole, all in 60-second instalments, this is Gyles Brandreth at his word-perfect, Just-a-Minute best. You’ll never mix your metaphors again...
This is a diary packed with famous names and extraordinary stories. It is also rich in incidental detail and wonderful observation, providing both a compelling record of five remarkable decades and a revealing, often hilarious and sometimes moving account of Gyles Brandreth's unusual life - as a child living in London in the 'swinging' sixties, as a jumper-wearing TV presenter, as an MP and government whip, and as a royal biographer who has enjoyed unique access to the Queen and her family. Something Sensational to Read on the Train takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride from the era of Dixon of Dock Green to the age of The X Factor, from the end of the farthing to the arrival of the euro, from the Britain of Harold Macmillan and the Notting Hill race riots to the world of Barack Obama and Lewis Hamilton. With a cast list that runs from Richard Nixon and Richard Branson to Gordon Brown and David Cameron - and includes princes, presidents and pop stars, as well as three archbishops and any number of actresses - this is a book for anyone interested in contemporary history, politics and entertainment, royalty, gossip and life itself.
*A brand-new book of amazing, mind-boggling riddles, from the much-loved Gyles Brandreth, author of What's Black and White and Red All Over* When first I appear I seem mysterious, But when I am explained I am nothing serious. What am I? A RIDDLE! Was that too easy? How about what goes ninety-nine BONK (a centipede with a wooden leg)? Or which famous book was written by Charles Chickens (Great EGGspectations, of course!). In this book you'll find a whole host of amazing riddles. Some will get you head scratching, some will make you laugh, and all are a lot of fun. Plus find out some brilliant riddling facts, and top tips on how to solve the trickiest brain-teasers. Written by Master of Funny and Collector of Riddles Gyles Brandreth, this is the ultimate, riotous Book of Riddles! 'Very funny and often outright silly' Guardian on Have You Eaten Grandma by Gyles Brandreth
In this new installment in the engaging mystery series Booklist called “pitch-perfect” and “enthralling”—currently in development as a BBC television series—the incomparable playwright, novelist, raconteur, and now ex-convict Oscar Wilde faces his most fiendishly puzzling case yet. Oscar Wilde has fled to France after his release from Reading Gaol. Tonight he is sharing a drink and the story of his cruel imprisonment with a mysterious stranger. Oscar has endured the treadmill, solitary confinement, censored letters, no writing materials. Yet even in the midst of such deprivation, his astonishing detective powers remain undiminished—and when first a brutal warder and then the prison chaplain are found murdered, who else should the governor turn to for help other than Reading Gaol’s most celebrated inmate?
This is the definitive account of one of the most extraordinary stories of our time. Gyles Brandreth, acclaimed biographer of the Queen and Prince Philip, presents a unique portrait of their son, Charles, Prince of Wales, and of the one 'non-negotiable' love of his life, Camilla Shand, now Duchess of Cornwall. What are Charles and Camilla really like? What is their heritage? What has made them the way they are? This is both a revealing portrait of two unusual individuals and a family saga like no other, told with unrivalled authority and insight - and humour - by a best-selling writer who has met all the key characters in the drama: Charles, Camilla, Diana, their children, their families and their friends.
Playwright and raconteur Oscar Wilde embarks on another adventure as he sets sail for America in the 1880s on a roller coaster of a lecture tour. But the adventure doesn't truly begin until Oscar boards an ocean liner headed back across the Atlantic and joins a motley crew led by French impresario Edmond La Grange. As Oscar becomes entangled with the La Grange acting dynasty, he suspects that all is not as it seems. What begins with a curious death at sea soon escalates to a series of increasingly macabre tragedies once the troupe arrives in Paris to perform Hamlet. A strange air of indifference surrounds these seemingly random events, inciting Oscar to dig deeper, aided by his friends Robert Sherard and the divine Sarah Bernhardt. What he discovers is a horrifying secret -- one that may bring him closer to his own last chapter than anyone could have imagined. As intelligent as it is beguiling, this third installment in the richly historical mystery series is sure to captivate and entertain.
The second witty installment in an astonishingly authentic historical mystery series featuring detective Oscar Wilde and his partner in crime, Arthur Conan Doyle It's 1892, and Wilde is the toast of London, riding high on the success of his play Lady Windemere's Fan. While celebrating with friends at a dinner party he conjures up a game called "murder" that poses the question: Who would you most like to kill? Wilde and friends -- including Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, and poet Robert Sherard (the novel's narrator) -- write the names of their "victims" on pieces of paper and choose them one by one. After leaving the party, Wilde scoffs at the suggestion that he may have instigated a very dangerous game indeed.... The very next day, the game takes an all-too- sinister turn when the first "victim" turns up dead. Soon Wilde and his band of amateur detectives must travel through the realms of politics, theatre, and even boxing to unearth whose misguided passions have the potential to become deadly poisons...not only for the perpetrator of the seemingly perfect crimes but also for the trio of detectives investigating them. Richly atmospheric and as entertaining as Wilde himself, this book is the second in a series destined to delight mystery readers and fans of historical fiction alike.
Authors Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle team up to find a determined killer whose victims are tied to the inner workings of the Roman Catholic Church.
Lovers of historical mysteries will relish this chilling Victorian tale based on real events and cloaked in authenticity. The first in a series of fiendishly clever historical murder mysteries, it casts British literature’s most fascinating and controversial figure as the lead sleuth. A young artist’s model has been murdered, and legendary wit Oscar Wilde enlists his friends Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Sherard to help him investigate. But when they arrive at the scene of the crime they find no sign of the gruesome killing—save one small spatter of blood, high on the wall. Set in London, Paris, Oxford, and Edinburgh at the height of Queen Victoria’s reign, here is a gripping eyewitness account of Wilde’s secret involvement in the curious case of Billy Wood, a young man whose brutal murder served as the inspiration for The Picture of Dorian Gray. Told by Wilde’s contemporary—poet Robert Sherard—this novel provides a fascinating and evocative portrait of the great playwright and his own “consulting detective,” Sherlock Holmes creator, Arthur Conan Doyle.
Nick Saint, a 28-year-old teacher at a private school in South Carolina doesn't know who he is or where he comes from. He has no papers, no passport and no past, but when he meets a psychotherapist called Kirsty, the two fall in love and set out on a quest for Nick's identity.
A sense of delight permeates Gyles Brandreth's John Gielgud: An Actor's Life ... Brandreth combines neat reportage, deft evocation and lovely tales about a man he knew and relished.' – The Times 'A delightful memoir which tells you all you need to know and collects all the anecdotes.' – Daily Mail John Gielgud was born in April 1904. When he died in May 2000, he was honoured as 'the giant of twentieth-century theatre'. In this updated, acclaimed biography, Gyles Brandreth draws from over thirty years of conversations with Gielgud to tell the extraordinary story of a unique actor, film star, director and raconteur. In 1921 Gielgud made his first appearance at the Old Vic in London and through the next eight decades he dominated his profession – initially as a classical actor, later in plays by Harold Pinter and Alan Bennett. In his twenties he had appeared in silent movies; more than half a century later, he emerged as a Hollywood star, winning his first Oscar at the age of seventy-eight. With wonderful anecdotes, and contributions from Kenneth Branagh, Alec Guinness, Paul Scofield, Donald Sinden, Judi Dench and Peter Hall, John Gielgud: An Actor's Life is a compelling, humorous and moving account of a remarkable man.
Like Alan Clark's Diaries, Brandreth's are not offering a formal account of Government in the 1990s - far from it. These diaries start in 1990 when Brandreth, after a multifarious career in theatre, television and publishing, decided that he wanted to become a Tory MP. The diaries open with his application to get on the Candidates' List, finding a seat (Chester), the 1992 General Election, and his arrival at Westminster as a 'new boy'. All good diaries need set pieces, and Brandreth provides several, in particular working as a Tory Whip when the Tory majority was steadily in decline and every vote counted. No one has ever told the inside story of the Whips' Office because there has been an unwritten rule that what goes on inside remains confidential forever after, but Bradnreth's diaries will break with tradition. There is an all-star cast (Princess Diana to Bill Clinton, Joanna Lumley to John Profumo), plenty of gossip and some intriguing scenes such as sharing dinner with Richard Nixon and Jonathan Aitken, being set up with a prostitute by the News of the World, and falling backwards into the Prime Minister's secret loo in the middle of midnight talks on the future of Northern Ireland. The political cast inevitably includes Jeffrey Archer, Norman Lamont and Neil Hamilton among others. As the publishers of Chips Channon, Nicholas Henderson and Alan Clark it is vital that any political diaries we publish should stand comparison. Brandreth may be a lighter-weight politician but his diaries genuinely reflect life in the last Tory Government of this century. They are also great fun.
Oscar Wilde and the Vampire Murders opens in 1890, at a glamorous party hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Albemarle. All of London’s high society—including the Prince of Wales—are in attendance at what promises to be the event of the season. Yet Oscar Wilde is more interested in another party guest, Rex LaSalle, a young actor who claims to be a vampire. But the entertaining evening ends in tragedy when the duchess is found murdered—with two tiny puncture marks on her throat. Desperate to avoid scandal and panic, the Prince asks Oscar and his friend Arthur Conan Doyle to investigate the crime. What they discover threatens to destroy the very heart of the royal family. Told through diary entries, newspaper clippings, telegrams, and letters, Oscar Wilde and the Vampire Murders is a richly atmospheric mystery that is sure to captivate and entertain.
Gyles n.pl. an obsolete spelling of guiles Brandreth n. a framework for support In The Joy of LEX, Gyles Brandreth lives up to his name by constructing a beguiling book with a framework of chapters ably supporting his contention that 'Words and the way we use them are what make us human animals unique. Or, to quote Bertrand Russell, 'No matter how eloquently a dog may bark, he cannot tell you that his parents were poor but honest.' And words and what we can do with them are what The Joy of Lex is all about. It is a wideranging and light-hearted celebration of our language - the richest, most diverse, most exciting and most entertaining language in the world.' For word buffs, for puzzle lovers, for anagram addicts, for crossword enthusiasts, for Scrabble players, for readers with an eye for the eccentric, and an ear for the unusual, this is the ultimate guide to the lighter side of the English language, written by a seasoned wordsmith and self-confessed verbaholic.
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