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How England Made the English
How England Made the English
Oct 6, 2024 1:21 AM

Author:Harry Mount

How England Made the English

PACKED WITH ASTONISHING FACTS AND WONDERFUL STORIES ON WHAT MAKES THE ENGLISH TICK

Q. Why are English train seats so narrow?

A. It's all the Romans' fault. The first Victorian trains were built to the same width as horse-drawn wagons; and they were designed to fit the ruts left in the roads by Roman chariots.

This intriguing and witty book explains how our national characteristics - our sense of humour, hobbies and favourite foods - are all defined by our nation's extraordinary geography, geology, climate and weather. You will learn how we would be as freezing cold as Siberia without the Gulf Stream; why we drive on the left-hand side of the road; why the Midlands became the home of the British curry.

Perfect for readers of Paxman's The English, Bryson's Notes on a Small Island and Fox's Watching the English.

Praise for Harry Mount:

'Highly readable, encyclopeadic, marvellous, illuminating. Mount portrays England via dextrous excavations of its geography, geology, history and weather' Independent

'Fascinating. Mount's an intelligent, funny and always interesting companion' Daily Mail

'Charming and nerdily fact-stuffed' Guardian

Reviews

Ackroyd is a knowledgeable and evocative guide to London’s different archaeological levels

—— Times Higher Education Supplement

As ever his research is meticulous, his scope expansive, his writing definitive. Every sentence is delivered with judicial gravity and command...Once again, Ackroyd shares his vision of a mythical city most do not see

—— Euan Ferguson , Time Out

While many authors have shone a flashlight on London's catacombs and tunnels, Ackroyd's vision is infra-red...skilled at connecting the past, present and future...For those looking for a highly readable introduction, plumb and depth to get a copy

—— Londonist

This book is not a straightforward history of London's relationship with the clay on which it stands but a poetic invoking of what Ackroyd perceives as the diabolic terror of the earth

—— Claire Allfree , Metro

Other worlds lurk below London, and Ackroyd revels in them. The book is both an absorbing history of those parts of the capital that lie beneath our feet and a meditation on the meaning we give them

—— Literary Review

A literary, cultural and topographical sat-nav for going underground in London... With quick, deft stitches he sews the fantastical and the familiar into a macabre sampler of the city that exists beneath the feet of its citizens

—— The Times

London Under is written with Ackroyd's characteristic panache

—— Sunday Times

[A] fascinating history of the capital beneath the surface... Irresistible

—— Dominic Sandbrook , Financial Times

There is much here that will delight Ackroyd's many admirers

—— Times Literary Supplement

Ackroyd takes us through the layers of the city, lifting the covers to peer downwards

—— Camden New Journal

In a short but intriguing book, Ackroyd explores the idea that, beneath the surface, there has existed another world with rules and conventions of its own

—— Financial Times

Anyone intrigued by this tumultuous city will devour London Under in a few transporting hours... packed with revelations... Ackroyd's stylistic brilliance explains why the book remains a rattling good read

—— Christopher Hirst , Independent

Fascinating study of everything under London, from rats and eels to monsters and ghosts.

—— Lady (Five-star review)

As London's anatomist-in-chief, Peter Ackroyd turns his focus on what lies beneath the capital's surface. Peppered with erudite and literary references, Ackroyd's fluent style makes for entertaining reading

—— James Urquhart , Financial Times

Packed with anecdotes and fascinating trivia...Ackroyd never misses an opportunity to link this hidden realm with the underworlds of mythology

—— Leon Burakowski , Halesowen Chronicle

Reveals the London beneath your feet in all its fascinating – and sometimes horrifying – glory. Historian and novelist Ackroyd invests his tales of buried rivers and catacombs with enormous energy

—— ELLE Decoration
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