When he was two and a half, having given Sam some (proper) sultanas to eat, he said afterwards 'Thank you, they were absolutely delicious'. At the time I was much surprised at the vocab of this very young person, as well as the clarity with which he spoke.

But I realise now that Sam is cut from the same cloth as Thomas Macaulay who from the age of three "talked, as the maid said, `quite printed words', which produced an effect that appeared formal, and often, no doubt, exceedingly droll." The famous story exemplifying this took place when he was three or four. A servant dropped hot liquid on him and after the fuss of cleaning him up, upon asked if he was okay, he replied `Thank you madam, the agony is abated'. https://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/anecdtes/c19/macaulay.htm

Surely such a boy, a compulsive reader with a phenomenal memory must have created a great work of its type.

Twenty years ago my father offered me a lovely old set of Macaulay's History of England and was much surprised when, in my ignorance, I turned it down. In the years since my father has died, for some reason this is a scene that pops up regularly into my head. How could I have been so, so, so ???? Uggggh.

Anyway, I hope one day to remedy this state of affairs. ( )

Easy to read, pages flew by, when I picked it up. Gives a thorough picture of England in the 1600s. More accessible than Gibbon, language easier to pick up. ( )