When Sir Ernest Gowers wrote his charming and authoritative 'Plain Words', it was expected to serve simply as a guide to proper English usage for the civil service. Within its first year, however, its humorous authorial voice and stylish simplicity had led to the printing of seven editions, and by the end of 1949 it had sold over 200,000 copies. Sir Ernest's great grand-daughter, novelist and language enthusiast Rebecca Gowers, has worked closely...

'Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable' is a major reference work, providing a wealth of fascinating and informative background detail from over 20,000 phrases and allusions used in English today.

Following his bestselling 'Lost For Words', John Humphrys takes a provocative look at the hidden attitudes that lie behind so many English phrases and expressions.

'The King James Bible' has contributed more to English than any other source. In this enlightening book David Crystal asks why. He looks at how its words have been given new life by poets, playwrights, novelists, politicians, journalists, advertisers, film-makers, hip-hop artists, and many others.