Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks

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Keith Houston

Shady Characters

The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks

Keith Houston

$44.95

Paperback

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English

WW Norton & Co
24 October 2014

Typography & lettering; Language: history & general works; Palaeography (history of writing)

A charming and indispensable tour of two thousand years of the written word, Shady Characters weaves a fascinating trail across the parallel histories of language and typography. Whether investigating the asterisk (
*) and dagger (†)—which alternately illuminated and skewered heretical verses of the early Bible—or the at sign (@), which languished in obscurity for centuries until rescued by the Internet, Keith Houston draws on myriad sources to chart the life and times of these enigmatic squiggles, both exotic (¶) and everyday (&).

From the Library of Alexandria to the halls of Bell Labs, figures as diverse as Charlemagne, Vladimir Nabokov, and George W. Bush cross paths with marks as obscure as the interrobang (?) and as divisive as the dash (—). Ancient Roman graffiti, Venetian trading shorthand, Cold War double agents, and Madison Avenue round out an ever more diverse set of episodes, characters, and artifacts.

Richly illustrated, ranging across time, typographies, and countries, Shady Characters will delight and entertain all who cherish the unpredictable and surprising in the writing life.

By: Keith Houston
Imprint: WW Norton & Co
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 211mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 25mm
Weight: 309g
ISBN: 9780393349726
ISBN 10: 0393349721
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 24 October 2014
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Keith Houston is the author of Shady Characters and The Book. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Mental Floss, BBC Culture, and on Time.com. He lives in Birmingham, England.