Books published by Bodleian Library

This richly illustrated book explores the huge creative endeavour behind Tolkien's enduring popularity. Lavishly illustrated with over 300 images of his manuscripts, drawings, maps and letters, the book traces the creative process behind his most famous literary works and reproduces personal photographs and private papers.

The art of being a good wife is not an easy one. This little guide was written in the 1930s for the middle classes - one of the first modern self-help books. Illustrated with contemporary line-drawings, it contains delightfully arcane and timelessly true advice: After all is said and done, husbands are not terribly difficult to manage.

In the golden age of ocean liners, between the late nineteenth century and the Second World War, shipping companies ensured their vessels were a home away from home. This book leads the reader through each of the stages and secrets of ocean liner travel, from booking a ticket and choosing a cabin to shore excursions and disembarking on arrival.

This essay examines the power of language to shape political ideas. In it, Orwell argues that when political discourse trades clarity and precision for stock phrases, the debasement of politics follows. First published in 'Horizon' in 1946, Orwell's ideas continue to be relevant to our own age.

Close friendships are a heart-warming feature of many of our best-loved works of fiction. This book explores 24 fictional friendships in succinct, structured entries, spanning 400 years, and writers as diverse as Jane Austen to John Steinbeck. Beautifully packaged, this is the ideal gift for your literature-loving friend.

Garnished with sumptuous illustrations depicting the plants that tell the story of this complex and iconic drink, this enticing book delves into the botany of gin from root to branch. As this book's extraordinary range of featured ingredients shows, gin is a quintessentially botanical beverage with a rich history like no other.

This lavishly illustrated book showcases the highlights of the Tolkien archives held at the Bodleian Library. This stunning book is a perfect introduction to Tolkien's creative imagination, giving a unique insight into the life of this extraordinary writer, artist and scholar.

The Latin text of Magna Carta (the 1217 issue of Henry III) is reproduced, together with a modern translation and an introduction which traces the background to the making of the charter and its subsequent revisions through the centuries. It also explains how this text has become an enduring symbol of freedom in Britain and throughout the world.

'Here I am once more in this Scene of Dissipation and vice, and I begin to find already my Morals corrupted.' Drawing together fifty quotations from Jane Austen's letters and novels with vibrant illustrations which illuminate everyday aspects of life in the Georgian era, this beautifully produced volume is the perfect gift for Janeites everywhere.

Establishing Parliament as the ultimate source of power in the land and enshrining basic civil rights, this document can justly claim to serve as the origin of Britain's democracy. An introduction by Jonathan Sumption provides historical context and outlines its influence over the centuries, including on recent political events.

Oscar Wilde's children's stories explore timeless themes of good and evil, freedom and responsibility, love and death, beauty and self-sacrifice. This beautiful collectors' edition with original watercolour illustrations and decorative motifs by Charles Robinson and an introduction by Michele Mendelssohn will delight adults and children alike.

This book features 24 of William Henry Fox Talbot's experimental prints. Offered to the reader as enigmatic physical artefacts, an accompanying essay illustrated with comparative images places these photographs in a broad historical context, revealing what relevance Talbot's experiments have to contemporary concepts of the art of photography.

"Every individual book has a history which can help us to understand what difference it may have made in the world. Within these pages you will find books damaged by bullets or graffiti, recovered from fire or water, or even disguised as completely different texts for protection in dangerous times. Marks of ownership - be it a rich treasure binding or a humble family inscription - shine a light on social history and literacy, while student doodles from the sixteenth century and a variety of pithy annotations give us a sense of readers through the ages. We increasingly recognise that the cultural and research value of books lies not just in their printed contents, but in the many other things they can tell us about the ways they have been used, read and regarded. Generously illustrated with examples from the early Middle Ages to the present day, Speaking Volumes presents a fascinating selection of books in both public and private collections whose individual histories tell surprising and illuminating stories, encouraging us to look at and appreciate books in new and non-traditional ways"--Publisher's description.

J.R.R. Tolkien's son and literary editor, Christopher Tolkien, published 24 of his father's posthumous works during his own lifetime. This collection of essays by world-renowned scholars, together with family reminiscences, sheds new light on Tolkien's work. This illustrated volume is essential reading for Tolkien scholars, readers and fans.

This beautiful catalogue features richly illustrated texts and finely printed volumes which are bound with skill and creativity using varied materials by binders from all over the world. The fourth in the series this book is a celebration of the stunningly inventive winning bindings featured alongside all the competition entries.

Offers the full text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights following a foreword by human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and a general introduction which explores the Declaration's origins in the 'Four Freedoms' described by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Outlines the story of the White Rose group and sets their resistance texts within their political and historical context. Includes a series of brief biographical sketches, including excerpts from their letters, that trace each member's journey towards action against Hitler and the National Socialist state.

Dressy men as a type of celebrity have played a distinctive part in the cultural - and even in the political - life of Britain over several centuries. This groundbreaking study tells the scandalous story of fashionable men and their clothes as a reflection of changing attitudes not only to style but also to gender and sexuality.