Here, you'll never believe what happened to the brother of this friend of my uncle . . .

Heard about the old lasy who died from hypothermia while shoplifting a frozen chicken under her hat? Or the workman who was accidentally welded inside a boiler? And did you how the Royal Family really does its Christmas shopping?

In the office, at a party, in a pub -- we all love to tell and hear these 'Nasty Legends,' where the frightening, the grotesque or the simply hilarious is passed off as the absolute truth. 'As true as I stand here now, squire . . .'

Following the success of his Book of Nasty Legends, Paul Smith presents a new selection from his hoard of these 'universal apocryphal anecdotes' and describes their history and importance to contemporary culture. From the sad tale of the cat in the microwave to the sinister story of devil worship in a major multinational corporation, these legends -- admirably illustrated by David Austin -- are today's development of our great storytelling tradition.

. . . And the strangest thing is . . . it actually happened!