The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the Perfect English Phrase

Whether you want to achieve literary immortality or just persuade people of the genius of your thoughts, says Mark Forsyth, author of the bestselling The Etymologicon, you don't need to have anything to say — you simply need to say it well. And to say it well you just need to know the tricks of the trade, the simple formulas that have been in use from The Bible to The Beatles, from proverbs to number one singles. These are the timeless techniques of classical rhetoric that worked just as well for Tennyson as they do for Tarantino. Join Mark as he explains, in his inimitably lucid and entertaining way, why you remember lines like 'Bond. James Bond' and 'To be or not to be', how Katy Perry adapted Charles Dickens, and the intriguing complexity of Dirty Harry's rhetorical questions. In an age unhealthily obsessed with substance, this is a book on the importance of pure style.