The Illustrated Christmas Cracker

The Illustrated Christmas Cracker by Norwich, John Julius. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781782392514.

A classic Christmas gift book, reissued with new cover artwork by Quentin Blake For more than 40 years, John Julius Norwich has been sending out his Christmas Crackers—a personal collection of quirky quotes and literary odds and ends—to his friends instead of a Christmas card. Here, Quentin Blake has made his own selection of favorite pieces and has illustrated them in his own trademark style. From curious dictionary definitions ("Carphology. Delirious fumbling with the bedclothes," Concise Oxford Dictionary) and tortuous palindromes ("Live dirt up a side-track carted is a putrid evil") to 18th-century accounts of drunken pigs and Benjamin Franklins account of inventing bifocals, this cracker is stuffed with surprising, offbeat, often hilarious gems. Enlivened by Quentin Blakes witty illustrations, this book is a perfect stocking-stuffer.