Overview

Students reading English Literature are sometimes befuddled by the language. It's English, but 'British' is not quite the same English as it is for people from outside of Great Britain. English literature is among the best in the world, and worthy of study but learning may be hindered by the occasional British-ism, slang, or historic reference. Context may provide clues, but this is not the same thing as really understanding what the author is saying. So Viceroys and Vergers is a lighthearted dictionary to clear up these tricky bits from Shakespeare to Harry Potter. Complete understanding also makes reading more fun. Consider... What -exactly- is a crumpet? Is Parliament like Congress? What about the Prime Minister? Where does the monarch fit in? Bubble-and-squeak, haggis, mushy peas? Is their food really so bland? So many kings, dukes, and knights? Why? What are they for? What's with all the servants? Couldn't these people do anything for themselves?

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Bill Harvey grew up in Colorado which is a state poorly equipped with oceans. Because of this, he read all of C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels by the time he finished middle school. (He was a bookish lad.) From there it was a fairly straight line from maritime history, to the industrial revolution and its Victorian 'high-technology, ' and finally, the history of economics and finance. England was the center of it all.In order to support his reading, Harvey taught various things to various people, mostly adult people; including a stint teaching GED subjects to people in jail. (As an employee, NOT an inmate.) Along the way, he got very good at explaining complicated things to people. For example, factoring polynomials in the morning and the English Civil War in the afternoon.American readers, particularly those who enjoy any era of English writing, can often take meaning from context when they stumble across something the British reader takes for granted, but for Harvey, there was a need understand these Briticisms and explain them-to himself or otherwise -and have a little fun along the way. What you are holding in your hands now is the consequence of this obsession.Harvey currently makes his home in San Francisco and supports his reading habit with a little fancy woodwork on the side.

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