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The Ex-Classics Web Site About Us The Ex-Classics project was founded in 2000 to fill an unmet need.  When reading the blurb etc. to a book by Charles Dickens or Charlotte Bronte, say, we would often come across sentences like "Favourite reading included . . ."  If  it's good enough for them, it's good enough for us. So off we go to the library or bookshop, to be met first with blank stares and then with the information that the book has been out of print for decades. Our first two books were Gil Blas and Hudibras, which are prime examples of this.  This web site is dedicated to rescuing these works from obscurity and making them available online, both for reading directly, and for downloading. Book of the Month -- July 2021 English as she is Spoke In 1855 a little book was published in Paris to little notice -- a Portuguese/English phrase book. It was nearly thirty years before it was discovered to contain a rich deposit of pure hilarity. Briefly, the author, who knew no English, had constructed it by taking a Portuguese/French phrasebook and translating the French word for word into English using a dictionary. The result is a book written in a language no-one ever spoke or will ever speak, but which is a masterpiece of unintended humour. It starts as it means to go on with an Introduction pouring scorn on the work of other writers of phrasebooks "A choice of familiar dialogues, clean of gallicisms, and despoiled phrases, it was missing yet to studious portuguese and brazilian Youth. . . ";, and continues with lists of Useful Words, through Familiar Dialogues and Anecdotes to Idiotisms and Proverbs. At each stage the reader's amazed laughter increases. Anyone who has ever read it cannot resist quoting favourite parts. These are ours; the notes in italics are also ours): Chastisements.(Which even Donald Rumsfeld might hesitate to approve.) The dungeon The iron collar To decapitate To empale To strangle To whip The galleys The torture rack To break upon Tho tear off the flesh To draw to four horses. For to ride a horse. Very dissatisfied customer (brandishing pistol): Here is a horse who have a bad looks. Give me another; I will not that. He not sall know to march, he is pursy, he is foundered. Don't you are ashamed to give me a jade as like? he is undshoed, he is with nails up; it want to lead to the farrier. Terrified horse dealer: Your pistols are its loads? An Anecdote A beggar, to Madrid, had solicited the pity of a passenger. "You are young and strong, told him that man; it would be better to work as you deliver to the business who you do. — It is money as I beg you, repply immediately the proud beggar, and not councils." But enough. Read, and weep with laughter What do you think? Any comments about this site or its contents? E-mail me (Click here) We have an occasional newsletter - please say if you want to be added to the mailing list. We never give out your details to spammers, or anyone else, for that matter. No-Copyright notice This site and its contents are public domain and free to the world. Anything in it may be copied and distributed free of charge or obligation. [There are one or two exceptions to this, which are clearly marked where they occur.] We expect this policy to be passed on - anyone who copies our texts or web pages and tries to claim copyright for themselves is stealing - not from us, but from you, and from everyone. An example of what we mean.

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