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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Much Ado About Nothing
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(c.1599) Comedy by *Shakespeare in which the main plot concerns Claudio and his beloved Hero (female, in spite of her name). They are separated by the deceptions of the evil Don John, until the villain is unmasked by a comic bumbling constable, Dogberry – a predecessor of Mrs Malaprop, with his observations such as 'comparisons are odorous'. The better-known subplot follows the bantering relationship between Benedick and Beatrice, whose barbed hostilities become a smoke screen for love.
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