The Adventure of English - 500 AD to 2000 - The Biography of a Language by Bragg, Melvyn - 2003

London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2003. A Fine unmarked copy with Fine dustjacket which is not price clipped. First edition, first printing. xii + 354 pages. 55 illustrations. In the book Melvyn Bragg shows us the remarkable story of the English language; from its beginnings as a minor guttural Germanic dialect to its position today as a truly established global language. Along the way its colourful story takes in a host of characters and locations, from the early tribes, Alfred the Great's stubborn resistance to the Danes, and through its early literary masterpieces such as Beowulf and the bawdy Geoffrey Chaucer; Henry VIII's battles with the church over bootleg bibles; a 'coarse' playwright named William Shakespeare; Dr. Johnson's dictionary. Embracing elements of Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hindi and Gullah, this 1500 year story covers a huge range of countries and peoples. L. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.