It's A Plot!: 100 Graves To Visit Before You Die

The Tibetans have the Book of the Dead. This is Ann Treneman's Book of the 'Dead Interesting'. The Times writer, best known for her hilarious parliamentary sketches, has branched out - to graveyards. In this riveting book - part travelogue, part biography, part social history - she takes you to some of the most interesting graves in Britain. You'll meet the real War Horse, the best 'funambulist' ever, Byron and his dog Boatswain, prime ministers, queens and kings, Florence Nightingale and her pet baby owl Athena, highwaymen, scientists, mistresses, the real James Bond and, of course, M. Then there are writers, painters, poets, rakes and rogues, victims, the meek and mild and the just plain mad. This unique book is made up of 100 entries, each telling the story of one or more graves. Some of the graves are chosen for who is in them, others for the grave itself. Some of the entries are humorous, some are poignant, but all tell us something about the British way of death. At times absurd, at times astounding, in Finding the Plot Ann Treneman proves an entertaining guide to the Anglo-Saxon underworld!

About the Author :
Ann Treneman is an award-winning journalist who has been the parliamentary sketchwriter for The Times since September 2003. She is the author of Annus Horribilis: The Worst Year in British Politics and Dave and Nick: The Year of the Honeymoon.

Review :
"Death, as the saying goes, becomes her - and in Ann Treneman's case, this intriguing dip-in-dip-out tome does illuminating work with a varied cast of the great and the good... [Finding The Plot] turns out to be a convincing reason for a few autumnal days hanging out in graveyards, admiring the headstones of the not-so-recently deceased. In each case, Treneman unearths (not literally, that would be rather macabre) her subjects with a lightness of touch and attention to detail which sculpt what could have been the literary equivalent of a rainy day on the moors into a revealing journey into Britain's past." Chris Leadbeater, The Daily Mail "The most fun I have ever had with dead bodies." Bill Bryson"Must Reads: "Graving" may sound like a gloomy activity but Treneman's fascinating trawl through burial sites proves it is anything but." The Observer "Author Ann Treneman has come up with a list of great British tombstones well worth a day out." The Mirror "The book is packed with such stories, about the great and the good, as well as those you've never heard of, but are glad you now have." Spectator "Ann Treneman proves in his delightful as well as weirdly uplifting book, it's quite possible to be funny about death without tipping too far into flippancy - (This book) is a small victory for a different view of death, in its own quirky way." Mail on Sunday "Treneman was planning to leave the 100th entry empty for readers to come up with their own favourite grave but then she discovered Fred Wolseley. Like the ninety-nine other entries, it tells you much that you did not know, in an amusing and charming way." TLS "This unusual guidebook is essential for anyone with a fascination for final resting places." Discover Britain "[A] witty and highly entertaining guide." Good Book Guide