David Crystal

On this site you’ll find details of my books, articles, and other materials, along with a short biography and links to related websites. The site also includes a page about Hilary's writing and a link to Ben's website.

David works from his home in Holyhead, North Wales, as a writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster. Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in 1941, he spent his early years in Holyhead. His family moved to Liverpool in 1951, and he received his secondary schooling at St Mary’s College. He read English at University College London (1959-62), specialised in English language studies, did some research there at the Survey of English Usage under Randolph Quirk (1962-3), then joined academic life as a lecturer in linguistics, first at Bangor, then at Reading.
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Recent books

William Tyndale and the English Language

Crystal's Curiosity Cabinet

Bookish Words

Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life (with Ben Crystal)A Date with Language

Related websites

www.johnbradburnepoems.com www.lectionaryreadings.co.uk www.shakespeareswords.com www.bencrystal.com www.originalpronunciation.com

The Crystal Books Project

Of the 100+ books listed on this site, many are now out-of-print. I often get emails from people trying to track down a copy. The emergence of e-books as a genre now offers a new opportunity to make out-of-print books available once again in various formats. The project also includes books of ours that fall outside the remit of conventional trade publishing.

New and Forthcoming

Crystal's Curiosity Cabinet: an English Language Miscellany was published by Chambers in October 2025. William Tydale and the English Language will be published in March 2026, and A Word for All Seasons later that year, both by Bodleian Library Publishing.

Ben and David Crystal Everyday Shakespeare: Lines for Life, was published by Chambers in May , and in the USA in September. An audio book is also now available, and a calendar baed on the book for 2026. Further information about the book can be found at www.everyday-shakespeare.com/

As of 2022, HIlary's books are now available in print and e-book formats. See her page for details.

Book signings

I'm no longer able to give public talks (including online events), so opportunities to have a book signed are now very limited. However, if you'd like a signed copy, there are two ways to arrange this:

You can send an email request for books using the above link and, if we have them, we'll send you a quote in the form of an e-invoice for the cost of the book(s), plus postage. The books will be sent on receipt of payment. We normally send books by second-class post, so you'll need to let us know if you want a faster or tracked delivery. Please include the name of the recipient, the delivery address, and tell us if the book is for a special occasion (birthday, leaving present, etc).
You can buy the book yourself and send it to my home address (14 Gors Avenue, Holyhead, LL65 1PB, UK) together with a stamped addressed envelope for its return. If you live outside the UK, this is the only method available.