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The Complete Book of Aunts

(, Main)


Publishing Details

Full Title:

The Complete Book of Aunts

Contributors:
ISBN:

9780571226566

Publisher:

Faber & Faber

Imprint:

Faber & Faber

Publication Date:

6th September 2007

Edition:

Main

Country:

United Kingdom

Classifications

Readership:

General

Fiction/Non-fiction:

Non Fiction

Dewey:

306.87

Physical Properties

Number of Pages:

272

Dimensions:

Width 127mm, Height 197mm, Spine 17mm

Weight:

217g

Description

An aunt is not someone to be rationalised or theorised. A nice aunt is an object of easy affection, at an emotional remove from the fierce, complex, passionate and difficult love that encumbers parenthood: her jollity and generosity free of the terrifying fears and responsibilities that bear down on a mother. A nasty aunt tends to be one who has had maternal status forced upon her - a subject explored by Jane Austen in Mansfield Park and by P. G. Wodehouse in The Inimitable Jeeves. But whether nice, nasty, bossy, timid, disappointed or eccentric, an aunt offers her brood of nieces and nephews another angle on the world and another insight into it. Of all our blood relations, she offers the most potential for uncomplicated friendship.



The idea for the book came to Christiansen after the death of one of his aunts, 'an admirable woman of the old school who saw it as her auntly duty to guide and cherish, as well as entertain and indulge.'



His Complete Book of Aunts is a hugely entertaining and touching exploration of aunts in all their guises and varieties, culled from real-life, literary and historical sources. No book has ever previously explored this subject, which is of universal relevance and fascination.

Reviews

"'Christiansen brings grit, determination and verve to his subject... Give this delightful concoction to any and every aunt you know.' Times Literary Supplement"

Author Bio

Rupert Christiansen is the author of several books, including The Faber Pocket Guide to Opera, Prima Donna, Romantic Affinities, Paris Babylon and The Visitors. He is opera critic and arts columnist for The Daily Telegraph, dance critic for The Mail on Sunday and a regular contributor to The Spectator. He lives in London.

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