EAN 9780140293074

This book rounds out the usual limited service provided by quotations dictionaries in a fascinating way. Skilfully written thumbnail biographies of the quotations' authors and incisive, brief annotations to the quotes themselves fill in a world of background and link the actual quotations to their contexts in illuminating ways. Take Barbara Cartland's "micro-biography" as a sample: "Hailed 'the queen of romantic fiction' she sold over 650 million copies of her 623 books, whose titles enabled her to claim the longest entry in Who's Who.