Spanning the 8th to the 21st centuries, 100 Books fromthe Libraries of the National Trust includes illuminatedmedieval manuscripts; the Trust's oldest atlas, withmaps of the ancient world; a volume from Henry VIII'slibrary; a book inscribed in blood; an Arabic manuscripton horsemanship; a very early book on swimming; thelargest volume of botanical drawings ever produced;sonatas by Joseph Haydn; a library of miniaturechildren's books; the first book in English by an Indianauthor; Dame Ellen Terry's annotated working copyof Shakespeare's Macbeth ; the first book ever printedin Antarctica; George Bernard Shaw's Nobel Prize inLiterature; Virginia Woolf's handwritten manuscript for hernovel Orlando ; and John Lennon's treasured childhoodcopy of Richmal Crompton's William the Gangster .Chosen by National Trust curators from collectionsat more than 160 properties, the featured books arearranged chronologically, each accompanied by beautifulphotography and an illuminating, easy-to-read caption.The book concludes with a handy glossary of terms anda gazetteer of important National Trust libraries.