Friday, April 17, 2009

The Complete Book of Aunts by Rupert Christiansen

I came across this quite by accident in a cheap book shop opposite the British Library, when I had popped in to buy a cheap book to see me on the tube back home. And since I have recently become an aunt, a role that I love and am looking forward to growing into, I decided to get this book.

Rupert Christiansen has certainly done his research. There were literary aunts, creations of wild imaginations, both wise and wicked, historical aunts, poems about aunts, biographical accounts of aunts, fictional and factual aunts, aunts designed to sell food and other wholesome homely fares, personal stories both ancient and modern about aunts, and elderly family friends known as Aunt. I'm not quite sure where I would come into this book, as a more modern aunt that isn't a spinster but also hasn't produced any cousins yet, but hopefully I'll be more like the much loved aunts than the annoying or downright horrible aunts!

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