Of the encyclopaedic dictionaries examined in this series, only the Encyclopaedia Britannica is still published today, having been in print for over 200 years. The first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica as we know it, was published in Edinburgh in 1771 by Andrew Bell, Colin Macfarquhar and William Smellie, together with 'A Society of Gentlemen'. The original concept for the work was stimulated by the appearance in France between 1751 and 1772 of the Encyclopédie of Diderot and D'Alembert. The Encyclopédie introduced two new concepts which were employed in the Encyclopaedia Britannica: the introduction of 'crafts' in addition to the arts and sciences, and the incorporation of extended articles or Treatises. This volume reproduces over 500 entries on architecture, arts and crafts found in the first edition. These include the full texts of the specialized writings on Architecture, Fortification, Gardening and Perspective.

Volume one begins with two essays by Bacon, Of Buildings and Of Gardens . These are followed by an adaptation of Isaac Walton's The Life of Sir Henry Wotton, and Wotton's treatise The Elements of Architecture . The principal theme of this volume is Harris' pioneering lexicon the first book of its k

Volume two provides letterpress articles extracted from Chambers' Cyclopaedia. The introduction and chapter one trace the publication history of Cyclopaedia and consider its aims, structure, system of arrangement, and general influence. Chambers' flattering Dedication to George II is reproduced along with a substantial portion of his scholarly preface, which presents the principal categories of Chambers' Division of Knowledge in the form of a genealogical tree. His original diagrammatic representation of the division of knowledge is also provided. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The book is the first complete discussion of the genre of online encyclopedias. The first part of the book, preceded by a theoretical introduction into the concept of webgenres, gives a detailed overview of the types of encyclopedic websites, presenting the characteristics of their content, form and functionality. The second part of the publication concerns Wikipedia--the most popular online encyclopedia. The presentation of the structure of the portal is followed by an in-depth discussion of Wikipedia discourse features, describing the most conspicuous properties of the stylistic layer of this encyclopedia. The value of the book is additionally enhanced by many illustrations reproducing the analyzed websites.

The first three chapters describe Johnson's pre-dictionary life, the creation of the dictionary (including citations from Johnson's original Plan), and his treatment of architectural subjects. Following his original preface, letterpress articles portray architectural subjects using quotations to illustrate words and meanings. Such rich, linguistic illustration was unknown to philology before the work of "the harmless drudge." The original title pages of volume one and two are included. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Studies of the English gentleman have tended to focus mainly on the nineteenth century, encouraging the implicit assumption that this influential literary trope has less resonance for twentieth-century literature and culture. Christine Berberich challenges this notion by showing that the English gentleman has proven to be a remarkably adaptable and relevant ideal that continues to influence not only literature but other forms of representation, including the media and advertising industries. Focusing on Siegfried Sassoon, Anthony Powell, Evelyn Waugh and Kazuo Ishiguro, whose presentations of the gentlemanly ideal are analysed in their specific cultural, historical, and sociological contexts, Berberich pays particular attention to the role of nostalgia and its relationship to 'Englishness'. Though 'Englishness' and by extension the English gentleman continue to be linked to depictions of England as the green and pleasant land of imagined bygone days, Berberich counterbalances this perception by showing that the figure of the English gentleman is the medium through which these authors and many of their contemporaries critique the shifting mores of contemporary society. Twentieth-century depictions of the gentleman thus have much to tell us about rapidly changing conceptions of national, class, and gender identity.