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A review by jgwc54e5
The Madman's Library: The Strangest Books, Manuscripts, and Other Literary Curiosities from History by Edward Brooke-Hitching
5.0
This wonderful book is a book about books, not everyday books but the weird, the unique and the crazy. From books written in blood, or bound in skin (including human), large and tiny, beautifully illustrated and filled with all sorts of information. The chapters cover everything from science and religion, alchemy, bestiaries, codes and ciphers,grimoires, literary hoaxes and dictionaries of the vulgar tongue.
Some of my favourite bits include the fake travel books. Walter E Traprock made up a trip to south seas including a bird that laid cube shaped eggs, the picture is clearly of dice in a nest! There’s some wonderful trivia here, from Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe’s pseudonyms to weird medical treatments. There’s also a bit on mediums that channeled dead authors including Shakespeare, Dickens and Twain. One medium also channeled martians!
A great read that made me laugh too.
Some of my favourite bits include the fake travel books. Walter E Traprock made up a trip to south seas including a bird that laid cube shaped eggs, the picture is clearly of dice in a nest! There’s some wonderful trivia here, from Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe’s pseudonyms to weird medical treatments. There’s also a bit on mediums that channeled dead authors including Shakespeare, Dickens and Twain. One medium also channeled martians!
A great read that made me laugh too.