Still More Christmas Crackers

Christmas Crackers

by John Julius Norwich

This work comprises 10 pamphlets published or given to friends by Lord Norwich at Christmas. Contributors as diverse as Charles Dodgson and Freya Stark, Nelson and Catullus, cover subjects as such as pigsticking and the papacy, the culinary preparation of puffins and the worst ever novel.

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

John Julius Norwich was an English historian, writer, and broadcaster known for his engaging books on European history and culture. The son of diplomat and politician Duff Cooper and socialite Lady Diana Manners, he received an elite education at Eton, Strasbourg, and Oxford, and served in the Foreign Service before dedicating himself to writing full-time.
He authored acclaimed works on Norman Sicily, Venice, Byzantium, the Mediterranean, and the Papacy, as well as popular anthologies like Christmas Crackers. He was also a familiar voice and face in British media, presenting numerous television documentaries and radio programs. A champion of cultural heritage, he supported causes such as the Venice in Peril Fund and the World Monuments Fund.
Norwich’s wide-ranging output, wit, and accessible style made him a beloved figure in historical writing.

Reviews

[Alex Sarll]

There's still plenty of enlightening and/or amusing stuff in this third collection of miscellanies - where else would I have learned that the Brontës' dad was responsible for what Norwich correctly identifies as perhaps the most irritating verse form ever invented, serious limericks where the last line doesn't rhyme? And while it must have been a delight to get each year's Cracker as it went out, reading them bundled up like this means one can draw connections between material from different years; I barely have more time for Henry James than Mussolini, but the infuriating novelist's predictions certainly came closer than the also-ran dictator's to the precise lineaments of Britain's decline. Still, speaking of decline, compared to the first two books there's a sense sometimes of the wheels coming off the enterprise. Of course there were always items which didn't do it for me, but this was the first time there were some where I didn't even get what the point was supposed to be. Apologies for repeated items multiply; there are misattributions too, and fiction mistaken for fact. You can tell from Norwich's work proper that he was nowhere near losing his marbles; maybe it was just that, with the rise of the fax and then the internet, more of what would later come to be called viral material was circulating, and more people were unable to resist the urge to titivate it along the way. Oh, and the old one-page limit for items seems to have collapsed altogether, though popping this on the shelf with its elder siblings, smaller pages should probably take some of the blame for that. There's still lots to love here, but the imperial phase is very much over.