How much heavier was Thackeray's brain than Walt Whitman's? Which novels do American soldiers read? When did cigarettes start making an appearance in English literature? &, while we're about it, who wrote the first Western, is there any link between asthma & literary genius, & what really happened on Dorothea's wedding night in Middlemarch?

In Curiosities of Literature, John Sutherland contemplates the full import of questions such as these, & attempts a few answers in a series of essays that are both witty & eclectic. His approach is also unashamedly discursive. An account of the fast-working Mickey Spillane, for example, leads to a consideration of the substances, both legal & illegal, that authors have employed to boost their creative energies. An essay on good & bad handwriting points out in passing that Thackeray could write the Lord's Prayer on the back of a stamp. As for Mary Shelley, a brief recital of the circumstances in which she wrote Frankenstein stops off to consider what impact the miserable summer weather of 1816 had on the future path of English literature.

Of course, it is debatable whether knowledge of these arcane topics adds to the wisdom of nations, but it does highlight the random pleasures to be found in reading literature & reading about it. As John Sutherland rightly asks, ' Why else read?'



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When We Were Kids is a book of original, autobiographical essays by twenty-seven scientists, including Paul Davies, Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett, Freeman Dyson, Murray Gell-Mann, Nicholas Humphrey, Lynn Margulis, Steven Pinker & Robert M. Sapolsky. Each writer attempts to identify that moment or those influences in his or her youth which triggered the determination to become a scientist. Was there a particular event or set of circumstances? To what extent did parents, peers of teachers contribute? Why mathematics rather than psychology; why biology rather than physics? What were the turning points, mistakes, epiphanies? Personal, passionate, revealing, enthralling, When We Were Kids tells as much about life as it does about science. ...

The best libraries in Victorian Britain kept this tome under lock & key, permitting access only to doctors & professors. Scotland Yard had a copy in their reference library, & even Sherlock Holmes may have had recourse to a copy in certain investigations. In private collections across the English speaking world, it was kept on top shelves, or safely stowed in locked cabinets, beyond the reach of minors, domestics & spouses. Any woman who gazed upon its pages was said to have fainted away. The church campaigned to have it banned & the German translation was burned at Nuremberg. Many antiquarian book sellers believe the book to have been a myth, others claimed it changed hands at enormous cost, & some are certain all original copies are now lost. But Curious Pleasures does exist & is back in print ...

In this delicious collection of new recipes, Madhur Jaffrey shows us that Indian food need not be complicated or involve hours in the kitchen. Take a few well chosen spices & readily available ingredients, & in a few easy steps you can make a delicious prawn curry from Goa; succulent chicken baked in an almond & onion sauce; hearty Sri Lankan beef with coconut milk; a creamy potato & pea curry; tasty swiss chard stir fried with ginger & garlic; & a spicy dip with beans (canned of course), cumin, chillies & lime. With over 175 clear, simple & accessible recipes, this mouthwatering cookbook is as beautifully written as her bestselling Ultimate Curry Bible, & is fully illustrated throughout with gorgeous colour photography.

Whether you are cooking curry for the first time or have plenty of culinary experience & are looking for quick & easy ideas, Madhur brings you all the tastes of India with the minimum of work.

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In this delicious collection of new recipes, Madhur Jaffrey shows us that Indian food need not be complicated or involve hours in the kitchen. Take a few well chosen spices & readily available ingredients, & in a few easy steps you can make a delicious prawn curry from Goa; succulent chicken baked in an almond & onion sauce; hearty Sri Lankan beef with coconut milk; a creamy potato & pea curry; tasty swiss chard stir fried with ginger & garlic; & a spicy dip with beans (canned of course), cumin, chillies & lime. With over 175 clear, simple & accessible recipes, this mouthwatering cookbook is as beautifully written as her bestselling Ultimate Curry Bible, & is fully illustrated throughout with gorgeous colour photography.

Whether you are cooking curry for the first time or have plenty of culinary experience & are looking for quick & easy ideas, Madhur brings you all the tastes of India with the minimum of work.

...

Curry changed & evolved according to the tastes of the various invaders of India. The Mughals brought with them the rice dishes of Persia; the Portuguese introduced the chilli peppers recently discovered by Christopher Columbus in the New World; & the Mrs Beetons & Eliza Actons of the British Raj added jam, carrots & apples to their curry recipes. The Raj also ensured that curry came the other way, from India to Britain
- & today the British consume no less than 18 tonnes a year of their favourite chicken tikka masala, a dish which purists claim is not Indian at all, but meat in gravy whipped up with a few spices (and sometimes a can of tomato soup!).
Almost every Indian dish is a fusion of different food traditions. This book, which tells the story of such dishes, & the people who invented, discovered, cooked & ate them, is vivid, entertaining
- & delicious


...

Curry changed & evolved according to the tastes of the various invaders of India. The Mughals brought with them the rice dishes of Persia; the Portuguese introduced the chilli peppers recently discovered by Christopher Columbus in the New World; & the Mrs Beetons & Eliza Actons of the British Raj added jam, carrots & apples to their curry recipes. The Raj also ensured that curry came the other way, from India to Britain
- & today the British consume no less than 18 tonnes a year of their favourite chicken tikka masala, a dish which purists claim is not Indian at all, but meat in gravy whipped up with a few spices (and sometimes a can of tomato soup!).
Almost every Indian dish is a fusion of different food traditions. This book, which tells the story of such dishes, & the people who invented, discovered, cooked & ate them, is vivid, entertaining
- & delicious


...

Welsh footballer Alan Curtis is synonymous with Swansea City, having played for the club during three different spells, but he also played for Leeds United, Southampton & Cardiff City, & won 35 caps for his country during an action-packed playing career that spanned two decades.

Alan experienced the highs of the game at the top level with Swansea during their meteoric rise through all four divisions to reach the top flight, but this success came after he

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Welsh footballer Alan Curtis is synonymous with Swansea City, having played for the club during three different spells, but he also played for Leeds United, Southampton & Cardiff City, & won thirty-five caps for his country during an action-packed playing career that spanned two decades.

Alan experienced the highs of the game at the top level with Swansea during their meteoric rise through all four divisions to reach the top flight, but this success came after he

...

Welsh footballer Alan Curtis is synonymous with Swansea City, having played for the club during three different spells, but he also played for Leeds United, Southampton & Cardiff City, & won thirty-five caps for his country during an action-packed playing career that spanned two decades.

Alan experienced the highs of the game at the top level with Swansea during their meteoric rise through all four divisions to reach the top flight, but this success came after he

...