Who had birds called Death, Wigs and Spinach? How do you spell the noise of a door slamming? Whose working title was The Chronic Argonauts?

Henry Eliot - author, editor and insatiable bookworm - has ransacked the libraries and archives of world literature, compiling hundreds of bookish lists. This eclectic gallimaufry showcases his favourites: we witness the tragic ends of the Ancient Greek tragedians, learn the name of George Orwell's pet cockerel and rummage through Joan Didion's travelling bag; we consider the history of literary fart jokes, orbit the Shakespearean moons of Uranus and meet several pigs with wings. From the sublime to the ridiculous - and everything in between ­- Eliot's lists, recommendations and nuggets of trivia will delight, inspire and surprise anyone who loves reading.

Beautifully presented with supplementary maps and illustrations, Henry Eliot's Book of Bookish Lists is the essential gift for book-lovers.