Witty and revelatory. Blooming brilliant -- Raymond Briggs Everything we ever thought about Christmas is wrong! Great stuff -- Matthew Parris Mark imparts knowledge about Christmas traditions from the essential to the (very) abstruse in wry and sardonic style. An effortless and enjoyable way to learn more about this fulcrum of our calendar -- Paul Smiddy, Former Head of pan-European retail research, HSBC Rather strangely for a book about Christmas, I could read this all year round. Lyrical and full of joy, it will definitely be in stockings round our house this December -- Bryony Gordon, author of 'The Wrong Knickers' Mark Forsyth wears his considerable knowledge lightly. He also writes beautifully -- David Marsh, on 'The Elements of Eloquence' Guardian This year's must-have stocking filler ... the essential addition to the library in the smallest room is Mark Forsyth's The Etymologicon. -- Ian Samson Guardian With his casual elegance and melodious voice, Mark Forsyth has an anachronistic charm totally at odds with the 21st century (The Horologicon) Sunday Times South Africa [The Etymologicon is] a perfect bit of stocking filler for the bookish member of the family, or just a cracking all-year-round-read. Highly recommended. The Spectator As good as promised - could have been thrice as long -- Ben Schott, on 'The Elements of Eloquence'

Born in London in 1977, Mark Forsyth (a.k.a The Inky Fool) was given a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary as a christening present and has never looked back. His book The Etymologicon was a Sunday Times No. 1 Bestseller, and a passage on adjective order was recently retweeted more than 50,000 times. His TED Talk 'What's a snollygoster?' has had more than half a million views. He has also written a specially commissioned essay 'The Unknown Unknown' for Independent Booksellers Week and the introduction for the new edition of the Collins English Dictionary. He lives in London with his dictionaries, and blogs at blog.inkyfool.com.