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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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'precious stone set in the silver sea'
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Britain, as described in the best-known of all passages celebrating the nation. Spoken by *John of Gaunt in Shakespeare's *Richard II, it is part of a single-sentence speech of 21 lines made up of nothing but phrases describing England: 'this sceptred isle... this other Eden, demi-Paradise... this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England... this dear dear land'. The eulogy rolls irresistibly on, to reveal only at the end its bitter purpose – a lament for the present contrary state of things.
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