Communication is essential to our lives, but how often do we stop to think about where the words we use have come from? Have you ever thought about which words in English have been borrowed from Arabic,...

The English language is a battlefield. Since the age of Shakespeare, arguments over correct usage have been acrimonious, and those involved have always really been contesting values - to do with morality,...

A celebration of the greatest kind of shop in the world, by an award-winning cast of writers including Ali Smith, Andrey Kurkov, Elif Shafak and Daniel KehlmannA cabinet of curiosities, a time machine,...

By 1700, France and Italy already had dictionaries of their own, and it became a matter of national pride that England should rival them. Dr Johnson rose to the challenge, turning over the garret of his...

Most of us know a bit about what passes for good manners - holding doors open, sending thank-you notes, no elbows on the table. We certainly know bad manners when we see them. But where has this patchwork...

Ever wondered how some people seem to have an opinion on every book ever published? Nowadays, there are so many books: how can anyone be well read anymore? Well, help is at hand. Let Henry Hitchings educate...

'Hitchings is extremely good at unravelling Johnson’s most bullish assertions . . . lucid and empathetic, scholarly but lively. A model Johnsonian, in fact.' The TimesThe World in Thirty-Eight Chapters...