Francesca Beauman – författare

Within these pages you will find all you need to know (and a few things you don't) in order to embark on the mindboggling journey that is modern motherhood.Discover humorous yet pertinent advice on everything from what a new mother ought to wear on the red carpet to the best books to read while feeding a baby, and marvel at what Mark Twain had to say on teething, Vladimir Nabokov on prams, Mrs Gaskell on six-month-olds and Mrs Beeton on breastfeeding.From the totally frivolous to the deeply serious, from the cultural to the historical, from the history of the Caesarean to celebrity baby names, this is an intelligent, classy and eclectic guide for every twenty-first-century mother or mother-to-be. For it is important to acknowledge that, even though they may have a basketball in their stomachs, they still have a brain in their heads. It is a book to give to friends, daughters and sisters - and to cherish for yourself.True, you may not ever need to know what year the epidural was invented, how to write your child's name in Chinese, or what the gestation period of an anteater is, but isn't it fabulous to know that you do?

Within these pages you will find all you need to know (and a few things you don''t) in order to embark on the mindboggling journey that is modern motherhood.Discover humorous yet pertinent advice on everything from what a new mother ought to wear on the red carpet to the best books to read while feeding a baby, and marvel at what Mark Twain had to say on teething, Vladimir Nabokov on prams, Mrs Gaskell on six-month-olds and Mrs Beeton on breastfeeding.From the totally frivolous to the deeply serious, from the cultural to the historical, from the history of the Caesarean to celebrity baby names, this is an intelligent, classy and eclectic guide for every twenty-first-century mother or mother-to-be. For it is important to acknowledge that, even though they may have a basketball in their stomachs, they still have a brain in their heads. It is a book to give to friends, daughters and sisters - and to cherish for yourself.True, you may not ever need to know what year the epidural was invented, how to write your child''s name in Chinese, or what the gestation period of an anteater is, but isn''t it fabulous to know that you do?

Have you ever wondered about the average age of brides 500 years ago or whether you are legally allowed to marry your brother''s daughter''s husband? Are you familiar with the marriage customs of the Na people of south-west China? Or would you know what to do if a swarm of bees attacked your wedding reception? Wonder no more! Within these pages you will find all you need to know (and a few things you don''t) in order to enter into the dizzying, daring dance that is a modern marriage. From the totally frivolous to the deeply serious, from champagne consumption in the Yemen to celebrity wedding dress designers, How to Wear White is a funny, eclectic and essential addition to every twenty-first-century bride''s trousseau. True, you may not ever need to know the names of all of Elizabeth Taylor''s spouses or how to say ''My husband'' in Norwegian, but isn''t it fabulous that you do?

Twenty-first-century women are called upon to perform any manner of tasks, recall even the most random bits of information, and all the while carry on a charming conversation. Thankfully, from historian and British television personality Francesca Beauman comes this indispensable and authoritative survival guide that will allow women to tackle any problem and work any party with ease, style, and grace. Everything But the Kitchen Sink is a compendium of delightfully witty facts, figures, diagrams, lists, charts, quotes, and practical advice. True, you may not ever need to know how to roast a hedgehog, treat a shark bite, or say "No, thank you. Please leave me alone" in Russian. But isn''t it good to know you can?

What do women look for in a man? And what do men look for in a woman? And how and why has this changed over the centuries?Every week thousands of people advertise for love either in newspapers, magazines or online. But if you think this is a modern phenomenon, think again - the ads have been running for over three hundred years. In 1695, a popular London pamphlet published the brave plea of a young gentleman who 'would willingly Match himself to some Good Young Gentlewoman, that has a Fortune of £3000 or thereabouts'. This was just the beginning. In the 1730s, papers carried regular ads in which income or respectability were the most desired qualities, though some asked for a 'shapely ankle' or a 'non-dancer'. By 1900 twenty-five British newspapers were dedicated solely to matrimonial ads. Shapely Ankle Preferr'd tells the story of ads of all kinds - from aristocrats and MPs, bus conductors and nurses, country squires and city swells, and even from a man who had lost a leg 'due to the kick of an Ostrich, in the East Indies'. The reasons are strangely familiar: the size of the city makes it hard to meet people; they're busy at work; they've just returned from abroad. Loneliness is not new.The surprising views of Lord Byron, Charlotte Brontë and George Orwell are revealed, and every ad is a snapshot of its age, from the criminal scams of the 1890s to the sad appeals of widows after the Second World War. In this fascinating book Fancesca Beauman uses newly uncovered evidence to answer crucial questions about how humans choose their mates. The result is a startling history of sex, marriage and society over three centures - hilarious and heartbreaking by turn.

This enchanting, juicy history takes us from the pineapple's origins in the Amazon rainforests to its first tasting by Columbus in Guadeloupe and its starring role on the royal dinner tables of Europe. In the eighteenth-century this spectacular fruit reigned supreme: despite the fact that, at first, to cultivate just one cost the same as a new coach, every great house soon boasted its own steaming pits filled with hundreds upon hundreds of pineapple plants. As the Prada handbag of its day, a real-life, homegrown pineapple was a powerful status symbol, so much so that at first, it was extremely unusual actually to eat the fruit. The image appeared on gateposts, on teapots, furniture and wallpaper.A new phase opened when growers in the Caribbean began supplying pineapples in the 1840s and later the first canning factory was built in Hawaii. As the story rolls on, through the heyday of pineapple chunks and cocktails, right up to the fashions of today,it touches on pineapples and sex, pineapples and empire, pineapples in art.Why is the pineapple so special? In one surprising sense it is indeed ideal. Made up of hundreds of separate fruitlets, its spirals embody the gradations of the Golden Mean - it is mathematically perfect. But it is more than that - for years a focus of traveller's tales, it is a treasure of sight and scent and taste. Packed with fascinating illustrations, this delicious book sees Fran Beauman explore the life and lore of the king of fruits: scholarly, witty and fun, it is a true hamper of delights.

An eclectic and witty guide to everything and anything that a twenty-first-century female wants--or needs--to know, The Artful Conversationalist is essentially Schott's Miscellany for the modern woman.

Discover over 300 seasonal book recommendations in the ultimate reading list for book lovers everywhere.-----'I will be giving this book to everyone I know' - Elizabeth Day'Francesca Beauman writes about the books she loves with irresistible passion, knowledge and warmth ... This is the best kind of reading celebration' - Rachel Joyce-----Spanning the dreary, cold days of January to the first flushes of spring and then the blazing August heat, bibliophile Francesca Beauman offers up a wealth of book recommendations. From The Count of Monte Cristo to Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Quartet, each has been selected to chime with a particular time of year and provide a richer reading experience. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this charming guide will delight, inspire and seriously extend your 'To Be Read' list!

Discover over 300 seasonal book recommendations in the ultimate reading list for book lovers everywhere.

-----''I will be giving this book to everyone I know'' - Elizabeth Day''Francesca Beauman writes about the books she loves with irresistible passion, knowledge and warmth ... This is the best kind of reading celebration'' - Rachel Joyce-----Spanning the dreary, cold days of January to the first flushes of spring and then the blazing August heat, bibliophile Francesca Beauman offers up a wealth of book recommendations. From The Count of Monte Cristo to Elena Ferrante''s Neapolitan Quartet, each has been selected to chime with a particular time of year and provide a richer reading experience. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this charming guide will delight, inspire and seriously extend your ''To Be Read'' list!

Have you ever used a dating app or website? Then you have more in common than you know with lonely homesteaders in eighteenth-century New England. At once heartwarming and heartbreaking, Matrimony, Inc. reveals the unifying thread that weaves its way through not just marriage and relationships over the centuries, but American social history itself: advertising for love.Amazingly, America's first personal ad appeared in the Boston Evening Post as early as 1759. A "e;person who flatters himself that he shall not be thought disagreeable"e; was in search of a "e;young lady, between the age of eighteen and twenty-three, of a middling stature, brown hair, of good Morals..."e; As family-arranged marriages fell out of fashion, Husband Wanted or Seeking Wife ads were soon to be found in every state in the nation.From the woman in a Wisconsin newspaper who wanted "e;no brainless dandy or foppish fool"e; to the man with a glass eye who placed an ad in the New York Times hoping to meet a woman with a glass eye, the many hundreds of personal ads that author Francesca Beauman has uncovered offer an extraordinary glimpse into the history of our hearts' desires, as well as a unique insight into American life as the frontier was settled and the cities grew. Personal ads played a surprisingly vital role in the West: couple by couple, shy smile by shy smile, letter by letter from a dusty, exhausted miner in California to a bored, frustrated seamstress in Ohio. Get ready for a new perspective on the making of modern America, a hundred words of typesetter's blurry black ink at a time.