Brewer's Curious Titles
Editor/Author: Editor: Crofton, IanPublication Year: 2002
Publisher: Chambers Harrap
ISBN: 978-0-304-36130-4
Category: literature
Image Count: 1
Book Status: Available
The fascinating story behind titles including quotations, allusions, and odd or bizarre or otherwise intriguing titles.
This book is found in the following Credo Collections:
See what others are saying:
-
Stories behind more than 1,500 well-known titles of films, novels, plays, paintings, and musical compositions comprise this intriguing and entertaining reference work. Titles range in time from Eumenides (458 B.C.E.) to Trainspotting (1993), and focus on those that are themselves intriguing or of curious origin. The author has omitted names of television programs, historical or mythological figures, and titles from popular music. Alphabetically interspersed among titles are more than 50 "Panel Features," which serve to point out common themes, and run from one to several pages. Among examples are "Animals," "Days of the Week," and "Salome." Access is facilitated by see and see also references, as well as by two indexes. The first is an extensive index by author, composer, or artist, and the second is an index of sources, which lists titles derived from the work of other writers. The compiler's intended audience includes lovers of literature, the performing arts, and the visual arts, and those who are simply inquisitive.Entries, monosyllabic or verbose, are about a paragraph in length. Quotations form one of the most common of curious title categories, followed by allusions. Works by William Shakespeare and the Bible are top resources. Suggestions for further curiosities or categories are welcome. These could start future works and continue the dialogue between readers and compilers.
Anita Zutis
Adjunct Librarian, Queensborough Community College, Bayside, N.Y
