From smelly Vikings to Covid and Instagram influencers, this book and one-woman show by poet, spoken word artist, former ‘A’ level English lecturer and all-round linguistics nerd, Melanie Branton, explores the fascinating history of the English language through the media of performance poetry and silly hats.

“A thoroughly entertaining and illuminating show from a talented wordsmith.” Tina Sederholm

“Melanie Branton is such an enthusiast for the English language! And her interest is infectious. She dives right in, finds treasure among the words that we swim in every day and makes us re-evaluate our language anew. This book is a gem, sparkling with insight and wisdom, encompassing and welcoming and written from the heart, for Melanie is in love with her topic and she takes a real delight in sharing this with her reader.” Robert Garnham

“The Full English combines both entertainment and education to explore the quirky and fascinating history of our rich linguistic heritage with charisma, wit, and large dollops of expertise. Melanie’s in-depth knowledge of the English language as a lecturer on the subject ideally complements her skills as one of the country’s cleverest and most engaging performance poets, and I would highly recommend the show to anyone with an interest in our bizarre but beautiful language.“
Rob Casey, Lecturer, Exeter College

Feedback from students at Exeter College:
• “Entertaining and intriguing – it kept my attention.”
• “The props and the energy made it really engaging.”
• “It was really good. More please!”
• “It was class.”
• “Thoroughly enjoyable.”