Philip Gooden

This is the story of the English language in all its richness and variety, a fascinating tale of linguistic, social and cultural transformation. From the intriguing origins and changing definitions of common words such as 'OK', 'berserk', 'curfew', to the massive transformations wrought in the vocabulary and structure of the language by Anglo-Saxon and Norman conquest, through to the literary triumphs of Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales and the works...

From the Publisher: When David Copperfield's widowed mother remarries, David suffers from his stepfather's abuse. At age 8, David is sent away to a harsh school where the principal routinely beats the students. David's circumstances become even worse when he is removed from school and, at age 10, forced to labor from morning to night in a London warehouse. David then decides to take desperate action. He will run away to his great-aunt, who lives in...

Retells the adventures of the orphan boy who is forced to practice thievery and live a life of crime in nineteenth-century London.

An abridgement of Dickens's beloved tale of a miser who learns the true meaning of Christmas when three ghostly visitors review his past and foretell his future.