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There’s no pleasure like a perfectly-turned put-down (when it’s directed at somebody else, of course) but Matthew Parris’s Scorn is sharply different from the standard collections. So here is a selection of the funniest, sharpest, rudest and most devastating insults in history, from ancient Roman graffiti to the battlefields of Twitter. Drawing on bile from such masters as Dorothy Parker, Elizabeth I, Boris Johnson, Groucho Marx, Princess Anne, Winston Churchill, Mae West and Alastair Campbell – which form an exchange between voices down the ages – Scorn shows that abuse can be an art form, and this collection includes extended literary invective as well as short verbal shin-kicks.
Encompassing literature, art, politics, showbiz, marriage, gender, nationality and religion, Matthew Parris’s sublime collection is the perfect companion for the festive season, whether you’re searching for the perfect elegant riposte, the rudest polite letter ever written, or a brutal verbal sledgehammer.
About the author
Matthew Parris worked for the Foreign Office before serving as an MP. He now writes as a columnist for The Times and the Spectator, and in 2011 won the Best Columnist award at the British Press Awards. He is the author of several books, including his autobiography Chance Witness and the bestselling The Spanish Ambassador’s Suitcase.
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1 hr 32 | Following ‘Blue’, ‘White’ is the second instalment of Kieslowski’s Three Colours Trilogy of the French revolutionary ideals of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
1 hr 39 | Kieslowski completes his Three Colours Trilogy with a tale of parallel lives and interwoven destinies, and draws connecting threads with the two previous films.
1 hr 38 | Julie loses her composer husband and their child in a car crash and, though devastated, she tries to make a new start, away from her country house and a would-be lover
1 hr 58 | AD | In a luxury resort, a writer and his wealthy wife are persuaded by a mysterious young woman to explore the Island beyond the secure boundaries of the hotel
1 hr 43 | AD | Set in the end days of the Spanish Flu, Pearl is trapped on an isolated farm, tending to her ailing father whilst lusting for the glamorous life she’s seen in movies
Get yourselves down to The Kitchen for a fun-filled, sequin-stuffed, point-packed watch-along party as we cheer and celebrate the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
Want to make a difference to a child’s life? Join us in the meeting room to find out more about fostering for your local council.
This informal and friendly group meets twice a month to listen to an extract, short story or poem which is read aloud.
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1 hr 53 | Lea Seydoux shines in this drama as a young single mother trying to raise her daughter whilst also caring for her beloved father who is struggling with a neurodegenerative disease