A WEALTH of little-known facts and stories are revealed in celebrity antiques dealer David Harper’s latest book about the British Empire.
It is the second book by the Whorlton resident who previously had readers in hysterics at the antics of the Georgians.
The latest book, A Bash With The British Empire, follows on from the first one with a wickedly funny take on the colonies.
He said: “It is a funny look at things in the empire and it gives a background to how the British built the world’s greatest empire.
“There was a race to build an empire, if it wasn’t the British, it would have been someone else.”
The author’s fascination with British history led him to the antiques trade, and it was through researching different objects that he began to learn various facts and stories.
He said: “Over the years I have been collecting these stories in my mind. When I moved into media and television about 20 years ago I began collating them.
“I loved [writing the book]. While I was double-checking facts, I would discover something new, such as the invention of snooker. Nobody ever asks where did snooker come from, or why is it called snooker.
“It is 260 pages but I could have filled 2,000 pages.”
Other subjects include the invention of the toothbrush, the bicycle and postage stamps.
It also touches on the darker side of colonialism.
Mr Harper said: “It picks up on slavery. The British were the first to abolish slavery and then spent 60 years fighting slavery, saving tens of thousands of slaves from the illegal slave ships.”
In the final chapter he reveals that like it or loathe it, ‘we are all a product of the empire. Our lives have been shaped by the empire’.
A Bash With The British Empire is published by Olympia and can be bought from olympiapublishers.com or amazon.com.
