Grumbling at Large, J B Priestley (Notting Hill Editions)

Grumbling at Large, J B Priestley (Notting Hill Editions)New Hardback Priestley defined the essay as a 'prose masterpiece in miniature' and understood that to perfect the form, the essayist had to stand 'naked and shivering' in the very first sentence. A prodigious essayist, Priestley expressed his unique thoughts on a diverse range of subjects from the delights of smoking to the futility of conferences. Witty, controversial and sometimes grumpy, Priestley's essays reveal the many faces of one of Britain's

my revulsion

It may sound like a pub guide

the bereaved father

under Irish officers who had little choice but to fight in foreign service

The Fascination is an evocative

with countless variations of flapping and gliding

the daughter of an upstart sheep farmer

she has nowhere to go but the fierce landscape that surrounds her

weaponry and strategic choke points

SPQR is a new look at Roman history from one of the world's foremost classicists

women now compete at traditional fell races

vengeful pranks and illicit intrigue – and are forced to question just how much of themselves they are willing to trade to get what they want