How England Made the English
From Why We Drive on the Left to Why We Don't Talk to Our Neighbours
1st Edition
Published on 31. May 2012
368 pages
978-0-670-91915-4 (ISBN)
Description
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
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
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
8pp black & white; 8pp colour
File size
18,00 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-670-91915-4 (9780670919154)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Harry Mount
How England Made the English
From Why We Drive on the Left to Why We Don't Talk to Our Neighbours
Book
04/2013
Penguin Books Ltd
€16.50
Article not available for order
Person
Harry Mount is the author of Amo, Amas, Amat and All That, his best-selling book on Latin, and A Lust for Window Sills - A Guide to British Buildings. A journalist for many newspapers and magazines, he has been a New York correspondent and a leader writer for the Daily Telegraph. He studied classics and history at Oxford, and architectural history at the Courtauld Institute. He lives in north London.
