Edward Brooke-Hitching
Auteur de The Madman's Library: The Strangest Books, Manuscripts and Other Literary Curiosities from History
A propos de l'auteur
Œuvres de Edward Brooke-Hitching
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Nom canonique
- Brooke-Hitching, Edward
- Nom légal
- Brooke-Hitching, Edward Robert
- Date de naissance
- 1982-12-05
- Sexe
- male
- Nationalité
- UK
- Lieu de naissance
- London, England
- Lieux de résidence
- London, England, UK
- Études
- University of Exeter (BA|2003)
- Professions
- author
documentary filmmaker - Relations
- Brooke-Hitchings, Franklin (father)
- Prix et distinctions
- Fellow, Royal Geographical Society
Membres
Critiques
Listes
Prix et récompenses
Vous aimerez peut-être aussi
Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 8
- Membres
- 1,526
- Popularité
- #16,856
- Évaluation
- 4.1
- Critiques
- 33
- ISBN
- 55
- Langues
- 8
It's immediately clear that the author is a well-researched book lover and bibliophile, and it doesn't take much effort for the reader to match his enthusiasm for books and of course reading them.
The author gives us a tantalising sample of what we can look forward to early on:
"Invisible books, books that kill, books so tall that motors are needed to turn their pages and books so long they could destroy the universe. Edible books. Wearable books. Books made of skin, bones, feathers and hair. Spell books, shaman manuals, alchemist scrolls, sin books and the ancient work known as the 'Cannibal Hymn'. Books to communicate with angels, and books to summon treasure-hunting demons. The lawsuit filed by the Devil, and a contract bearing his signature. Books worn into battle, books that tell the future, books found inside fish or wrapped around mummified Egyptians. Leechbooks, psychic books, treasure-finding texts and the code-writing hidden in the Bible." Introduction Page 16
The writing strikes a comfortable balance between being well researched and well written while never tipping over into the dry and academic style of writing that often ruins my interest level in books like this. Brooke-Hitching really gets it.
"But these books breathe. They hold thoughts, knowledge and humour otherwise long gone. Their stories - and to a degree, their authors - are alive upon opening them, undiminished by the violence of time." Introduction Page 16
Tell me you haven't shared these thoughts this too. The use of hornbooks pops up in my reading from time to time, and while I'd once Googled to clarify what they were, I don't recall ever seeing one, until now, which was a joy.
And while I knew what a hornbook was, I'd never heard of a xylothek or a wooden library, have you? According to the author, Xylotheks:
"... record arboreal biodiversity by forming a library from the trees themselves. Each volume is made of the wood of a different tree, their spines composed of the bark... and their contents containing specimens of the tree's leaves, seeds, branches and roots." Books that Aren't Books, Page 34
I defy any reader to view the accompanying photograph in the book and not instinctively want to reach out to touch and smell the volumes. Apparently xylothek collections of native flora can be found around the world and we have one here in Australia! Who knew?
I enjoyed studying the sheer ingenuity and variety in the emerging designs for the typewriter, and of course reading about the Voynich Manuscript; a book that has been studied around the world, but never been successfully decoded or deciphered.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Madman's Library and have already made plans to read his follow up published in 2022, entitled The Madman's Gallery - The Strangest Paintings, Sculptures and Other Curiosities from the History of Art. Here he turns his eye to the 'greatest curiosities from the global history of art' by gathering together more than a hundred 'magnificently eccentric antique paintings, engravings, illustrations and sculptures, each chosen for their striking beauty and the wonderfully bizarre story behind their creation.'
Colour me interested!… (plus d'informations)