The Oxford Companion to English Literature has long been established as the leading reference resource for students teachers scholars & general readers of English literature. It provides unrivalled coverage of all aspects of English literature
- from writers their works & the historical & cultural context in which they wrote to critics literary theory & allusions. For the seventh edition the Companion has been thoroughly revised & updated to meet the needs & concerns of todays students & general readers. Over 1 000 new entries have been added ranging from new writers
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Patrick Marber David Mitchell Arundhati Roy
- to increased coverage of writers & literary movements from around the world. Coverage of American literature has been substantially increased with new entries on writers such as Cormac Mc Carthy & Amy Tan & on movements & publications. Contextual & historical coverage has also been expanded with new entries on European history & culture post-colonial literature as well as writers & literary movements from around the world that have influenced English literature. The Companion has always been a quick & dependable source of reference for students & the new edition confirms its pre-eminent role as the go-to resource of first choice. All entries have been reviewed & details of new works biographies & criticism have been brought right up to date. So also has coverage of the themes approaches & concepts encountered by students today from terms to articles on literary theory & theorists. There is increased coverage of writers from around the world as well as from Ireland Scotland & Wales & of contextual topics including film & television music & art. Cross-referencing has been thoroughly updated with stronger linking from writers to thematic & conceptual entries. Meanwhile coverage of popular genres such as childrens literature science fiction biography reportage crime fiction fantasy or travel literature has been increased substantially with new entries on writers from Philip Pullman to Anne Frank & from Anais Nin to Douglas Adams. The seventh edition of this classic Companion
- now under the editorship of Dinah Birch assisted by a team of 28 distinguished associate editors & over 150 contributors
- ensures that it retains its status as the most authoritative informative & accessible guide to literature available.




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The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson first published in 1999 became almost overnight an immense success winning prizes & accolades around the world. Its combination of serious food history culinary expertise & entertaining serendipity with each page offering an infinity of perspectives was recognized as unique. The study of food & food history is a new discipline but one that has developed exponentially in the last twenty years. There are now university departments international societies learned journals & a wide-ranging literature exploring the meaning of food in the daily lives of people around the world & seeking to introduce food & the process of nourishment into our understanding of almost every compartment of human life whether politics high culture street life agriculture or life & death issues such as conflict & war. The great quality of this Companion is the way it

Includes:: both an exhaustive catalogue of the foods that nourish humankind
- whether they be fruit from tropical forests mosses scraped from adamantine granite in Siberian wastes or body parts such as eyeballs & testicles
- & a richly allusive commentary on the culture of food whether expressed in literature & cookery books or as dishes peculiar to a country or community. The new edition has not sought to dim the brilliance of Davidson's prose. Rather it has updated to keep ahead of a fast-moving area & has taken the opportunity to alert readers to new avenues in food studies.



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The Oxford Companion to Music is one of the most famous music reference works of all time. This invaluable Companion now reappears in a completely new edition. Over a million words in length it is the biggest most authoritative & most up to date single-volume music reference book available. The new edition draws on both the classic Oxford Companion to Music by Percy Scholes first published in 1938 & the two-volume New Oxford Companion to Music edited by Denis Arnold (1983) but is thoroughly revised & reimagined for the 21st century. Alison Latham has assembled a distinguished team of over 120 international contributors bringing their distinctive voices to an exceptionally broad sweep of musical subjects ranging from composers performers conductors individual works instruments & notation & forms & genres to music scholarship & aesthetics music education broadcasting & publishing all aspects of music theory & performance practice as well as jazz popular music & dance. Entries range from brief definitions to in-depth essays on subjects such as politics religion psychology & computers. This is a comprehensive authoritative & accessible source of information on all aspects of Western music. ...

From films ranging from An American in Paris & Flying Down to Rio to such Broadway landmarks as Oklahoma & West Side Story & television hits such as Cinderella & High School Musical the American musical has thrilled audiences around the world. Now in The Oxford Companion to the American Musical readers have at last an engaging & authoritative reference to this highly popular genre--the only such book to cover stage film & television musicals in one volume. With more than two thousand entries this book offers a wealth of information on musicals performers composers lyricists producers choreographers & much more. There are biographical entries on stars ranging from Fred Astaire & Bing Crosby to Mary Martin & Mae West as well as such contemporary show-stoppers as Nathan Lane Savion Glover & Kristin Chenowith; on composers ranging from Irving Berlin & George Gershwin to Richard Rodgers & Andrew Lloyd Webber; & on choreographers such as Bob Fosse Tommy Tune & Debbie Allen. The plays & films covered range from modern hits such as Mamma Mia! & Moulin Rouge to timeless classics such as Yankee Doodle Dandy & Show Boat. Also many musicals written specifically for television are included & many entries follow a work (such as Babes in Toyland) as it moves across genres from stage to film to television. The Companion also

Includes:: cross references a comprehensive listing of recommended recordings & a useful chronological listing of all the musicals described in the book. Whether you are curious about Singin in the Rain or Spamalot The Wizard of Oz or Grease this well-researched & entertaining resource is the first place to turn for reliable information on virtually every aspect of the American musical. Everything you ever wanted to know about the American musical--at your fingertips. What could be better or more useful?" --Marvin Hamlisch " Kudos to Thomas Hischak for The Oxford Companion to the American Musical. Resources such as these are extremely important not only as historic & academic records but for future generations of artists who need to understand the legacy they have inherited." --Carol Channing"

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Published in 1994 to worldwide acclaim the first edition of Jancis Robinson's seminal volume immediately attained legendary status winning every major wine book award including the Glenfiddich & Julia Child/IACP awards as well as writer & woman of the year accolades for its editor on both sides of the Atlantic. Combining meticulously-researched fact with refreshing opinion & wit The Oxford Companion to Wine presents almost 4 000 entries on every wine-related topic imaginable from regions & grape varieties to the owners connoisseurs growers & tasters in wine through the ages; from viticulture & oenology to the history of wine from its origins to the present day. Now exhaustively updated this third edition incorporates the very latest international research to present almost 400 new entries on topics ranging from globalization & the politics of wine to brands precision viticulture & co-fermentation. Hundreds of entries have undergone major revision among them yeast barrel alternatives climate change & virtually all wine regions; & useful lists & statistics are appended including controlled appellations & their permitted grape varieties & wine production & consumption by country. Illustrated with maps of every important wine region in the world useful charts & diagrams & stunning colour photographs this Companion is unlike any other wine book offering an understanding of wine in all of its wider contexts
- notably historical cultural & scientific
- & serving as a truly companionable point of reference into which any wine-lover can dip & browse.

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The second edition of the Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus is the perfect language resource combining a dictionary & thesaurus text. This means that you only have to reach for one book when you need language help. In this edition the dictionary & thesaurus texts are integrated so that the thesaurus entry for a word follows the dictionary entry directly. This is based on market research into user preferences making the dictionary accessible clear & easy to use. New to this edition is a centre section for crossword enthusiasts & puzzle solvers containing hundreds of thematic word lists. With 300 000 definitions synonyms & antonyms this really is the ultimate tool for anyone who loves language-based quizzes & puzzles. The Oxford Dictionary & Thesaurus also features usage notes to help you deal with tricky vocabulary & improve your writing style. The ultimate reference tool for your shelf
- but not designed to stay there! The dictionary

Includes:: 12 months access* to Oxfords premium online dictionary & thesaurus service Oxford Dictionaries Online updated regularly with the latest developments to words & meanings so you will have the most accurate picture of English available. Find out more about our living language using Oxford Dictionaries Online. Hear how words are spoken with thousands of audio pronunciations & access over 1.9 million real English example sentences to see how words are used in context. Improve your confidence in writing with helpful grammar & punctuation guides full thesaurus information style & usage help & much more. * Available in selected markets (UK Europe Australia Canada & South Africa). Terms & conditions apply; please see www.oxforddictionaries.com/access for information.


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The foremost single volume authority on the English language the Oxford Dictionary of English is at the forefront of language research focusing on English as it is used today. It is informed by the most up-to-date evidence from the largest language research programme in the world including the two-billion-word Oxford English Corpus. This new edition

Includes:: thousands of br&-new words & senses as well as up-to-date encyclopedic information & extensive appendices covering topics such as countries heads of state & chemical elements. New features include Word Trends which showcase language research based on the Oxford English Corpus & illuminate the extraordinary stories behind fast-changing words of everyday English. 12 months' access to Oxford's premium online dictionary & thesaurus service is included with this book so you can get accurate definitions & synonyms wherever you are. Find out more about our living language using Oxford Dictionaries Pro
- updated regularly with the latest changes to words & meanings so you have the most accurate picture of English available. Use the thousands of audio pronunciations to hear how words are spoken. Improve your confidence in writing with helpful grammar & punctuation guides full thesaurus information style & usage help & much more.


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English grammar has changed a great deal since the beginning of the Twentieth Century & it is a subject that can provide a complex minefield of uncertainties within the language. This accessible & comprehensive dictionary comes to the aid of both the general reader & the student or teacher offering straightforward & immediate A-Z access to 1 000 grammatical terms & their meanings. All the currently accepted terms of grammar are included as well as older traditional names controversial new coinages & items from the study of other languages. Concise definitions of the wider subject of linguistics including phonetics & transformational grammar are accompanied by examples of language in use & frequent"ations from existing works on grammar. ...

Did you know that flavour of the month originated in a marketing campaign in American ice-cream parlours in the 1940s when a particular flavour would be specially promoted for a month at a time? & did you know that off the cuff refers to the rather messy practice of writing impromptu notes on ones shirt cuff before speaking in public? These & many more idioms are explained & put into context in this third edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. The volume takes a fresh look at the idiomatic phrases & sayings that make English the rich & intriguing language that it is. This major new edition contains entries for over 6 000 idioms including 700 entirely new entries based on Oxfords language monitoring & the ongoing third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. These include a range of recently established idioms such as the elephant in the corner go figure like a rat up a drainpipe sex on legs step up to the plate too posh to push a walk in the park win ugly. This edition also features a greatly increased number of cross-references making it ideal for quick reference. Many entries include additional features which give more detailed background on the idiom in question. For example did you know that taken aback was adopted from nautical terminology that described a ship unable to move forward because of a strong headwind pressing its sails back against the mast? Anyone interested in the colourful side of the English language will get hours of fun browsing from this fascinating & informative volume. ...

This hilarious collection of humorous"ations full of wisecracks & wit snappy comments & inspired fantasy has been specially compiled by the late broadcaster & raconteur Ned Sherrin with a foreword by leading British satirist Alistair Beaton. Now packed with even more"es & covering more subjects than before from Weddings to the Supernatural Headlines to Australia. Find the best lines from your favourite jokesters & wordsmiths add that extra something to a speech or presentation or just enjoy a good laugh. 'A chair is a piece of furniture. I am not a chair because no one has ever sat on me.' Ann Widdecombe on the announcement that Parliamentary language will now be gender-neutral ' No wonder Bob Geldof is such an expert on famine. He's been feeding off 'I don't like Mondays' for 30 years.' Russell Brand On deciding to run for governor of California: ' The most difficult decision I've ever made in my entire life except for the one in 1978 when I decided to get a bikini wax.' Arnold Schwarzenegger ' Wanting to know an author because you like his work is like wanting to know a duck because you like pate.' Margaret Atwood 'I am so sorry. We have to stop there. I have just come to the end of my personality.' Quentin Crisp closing down an interview ...