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 was 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 2024 , and in the USA in September. An audio book is also 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, please use the following method: buy the book(s) and send to my home address (14 Gors Avenue, Holyhead, LL65 1PB, UK) together with a stamped addressed envelope for return. If you want more than a simple signature, give the full name of the person the gift is for.

This website © 2020 David Crystal.