That saying? Behind every famous man . . . ? From Mrs Midas to Queen Kong, from Elvis’s twin sister to Pygmalion’s bride, they’re all here, in Carol Ann Duffy’s inspired and inspirational collection, The World’s Wife. Witty and thought-provoking, this is a tongue-in-cheek, no-holds-barred look at the real movers and shakers across history, myth and legend. If you have ever wondered, for example, how exactly Darwin came up with his theory of evolution, or what, precisely, Frau Freud thought about her husband – then this is the book for you, as the wives of the great, the good, the not so good, and the legendary are given a voice in Carol Ann Duffy’s sparkling and inventive collection.
‘Carol Ann Duffy is a poet of skill, talent and great heart’ Erica Wagner
‘Duffy takes a cheeky, subversive, no-nonsense swipe with a dish clout at the famous men of history and myth. They don’t have a chance in hell of dodging her quick-witted wallop as she relays their stories from their spouse’s points of view’ The Times
‘Poignant, thoughtful, funny, rich and accessible’ Ruth Padel, Guardian, Books of the Year
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Humour is the abundant keynote of this accessible collection. Mrs Rip Van Winkle enjoys the freedom to travel and paint allowed by her husband's permanent slumbers, "Until the day / I came home with pastel of Niagara / and he was sitting up in bed rattling Viagra." Frau Freud analyses her over-exposure to "ding-a-ling, member and jock, / of todger and nudger and percy and cock," and confesses with irony to being, "as au fait with Hunt-the Salami / as Ms M. Lewinsky." Mrs Aesop groans about her husbands unstoppable garrulousness: "By Christ, he could bore for Purgatory," and Mrs Darwin evolves the following summary her husband's research:
"7 April 1852
Went to the Zoo.
I said to Him--
Something about that Chimpanzee over there
reminds me of you."
The World's Wife throws open the windows on the stuffy annals of historical myth and breezes through some of its highlights with a sense of revelry and laugh-out-loud observation. In this wry take on the historical ubiquity of heterosexual coupledom that permeates so many cultural myths, Duffy has separated vibrant women from the shadows of their more famous husbands and brothers, and divorced them from the distortions of historical silence. --Rachel Holmes
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Book Description paperback. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 9780330372220
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 1393380-n
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. What did Mrs Midas think? Or Queen Kong? Read all about it in Carol Ann Duffy's hugely successful, tender and entertaining collection."The World's Wife is a joyous, exuberant book of poems about women usually excluded from myth and history: wives such as Mrs Pilate, Mrs Aesop, Mrs Darwin, Mrs Faust, Frau Freud, Mrs Quasimodo; women usually defined by their men - Delilah, Anne Hathaway, Eurydice; and retellings of old stories in which the lead changes sex - Queen Kong, the Kray Sisters and Elvis' twin sister, the nun." (The Guardian) Poems of famous men - and the women who married them - by the Poet Laureate. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780330372220
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Brand New. 96 pages. 7.70x0.40x5.10 inches. In Stock. Seller Inventory # __033037222X
Book Description Paperback / softback. Condition: New. New copy - Usually dispatched within 4 working days. Poems of famous men - and the women who married them - by the Poet Laureate. Seller Inventory # B9780330372220
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_033037222X
Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # 1393380-n
Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard033037222X
Book Description paperback. Condition: New. COVID/BREXIT/ROYAL MAIL STRIKES MAY MEAN DELAYS IN TRANSIT. Priority orders will be dispatched by Royal Mail TRACKED 24 or courier (particularly if over 2kg). Standard mail will be dispatched by Royal Mail TRACKED 48 (up to 2kg), heavier items by courier . Overseas orders will be dispatched by Royal Mail International.Tracked. PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR MY PRIVACY POLICY. Seller Inventory # mon0000033882
Book Description Condition: New. 2010. Reprints. Paperback. Poems of famous men -- and the women who married them -- by the Poet Laureate. Num Pages: 96 pages. BIC Classification: DCF. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 197 x 140 x 8. Weight in Grams: 128 76pp. . . . . Seller Inventory # 9780330372220