A fascinating and entertaining expose of the surprising stories behind well-known nursery rhymes.
Was Little Jack Horner a squatter? Baa Baa Black Sheep a bleat about taxation? Is Jack and Jill about loss of virginity? And Goosie Goosie Gander about prostitution? This ingenious book delves into the hidden meanings of the most innocuous-sounding nursery rhymes, exposing a seething and subversive mass of sexual innuendo, religious hatred, financial hardship and political rebellion. It contains a multitude of the kind of surprising nuggets you want to pass onto your friends. It makes us look afresh at the words we parroted innocently as children, and provides an accessible lesson in history along the way. Each rhyme and an additional chapter on sex and relationships in nursery rhymes is illustrated by a contemporary artist, varying in style from the traditional to the modern and bringing a whole new dimension to the reasons behind the rhyme.
This new edition includes sixteen new rhymes.
