{"title":"Michael Holden","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"all-ears-book-michael-holden-9781846880384","title":"All Ears","description":"As the author of \"All Ears\" will freely admit, there's nothing dignified about listening to other people's conversations, especially if these are thrust upon us as we stand in crowded London bus, packed sardine-style with complete strangers shouting into their mobile phones. No one, however, has ever attempted to raise eavesdropping to an art form, or recognize what verbal gems are being thrown around us every minute of our waking urban existence. Gathered for the first time in a volume, and accompanied by Andy Watt's iconic illustrations, are Michael Holden's hit \"stolen dialogues\", which readers of the \"Saturday Guardian\" - where they were serialized since April 2005 - will immediately recognize. The locations vary - ranging from Scotland to the South Coast - but the focus is on the teeming city of London, with its noisy and multifarious inhabitants, directly presented here in all its quirkiness, showing how unusual and unscriptable everyday conversation can at times be. The book includes previously unpublished vignettes, fifteen colour illustrations by Andy Watt, scene-setting descriptions for each dialogue and a map identifying the location of each conversation.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49521346347281,"sku":"GOR001612776","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50411858002193,"sku":"GOR005747740","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1846880386.jpg?v=1751429975"},{"product_id":"freney-the-robber-book-michael-holden-9781856356206","title":"Freney the Robber","description":"Freney, The Robber, was something of an Irish Robin Hood and in this new book, Michael Holden has sifted through the evidence, the legend and the heroic tales to bring to life one of Kilkenny's most interesting folk heroes. His name has lived on in folklore over the centuries and the highest mark of Kilkenny's esteem has often been the plaudit, 'As bold as Freney the Robber'.He was Kilkenny's most famous highwayman and is often referred to as the noblest of all Irish highwaymen owing to his tact and polished politeness in dealing with the many victims that he accosted on the roads of Ireland. His striking at the very heart of Ireland's oppressors, plundering their secure and guarded homes wielding a sledgehammer, and sharing his spoils with the poor, catapulted him into the limelight as a local hero. He risked life and limb in order to frustrate and defy the dreaded Redcoats at eviction scenes as they administered rough justice to the downtrodden locals. This Jekyll and Hyde-style character's escapades included escaping detection by exchanging places with a corpse, disarming and robbing a commanding officer in the presence of his troops and reversing the shoes on his horse in order to confuse his pursuers.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49643072422161,"sku":"GOR004434839","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50199127228689,"sku":"GOR001404668","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1856356205.jpg?v=1750964128"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-michael-holden.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}