Icons of England

by Charles III (Contributor), Bill Bryson (Editor)

This celebration of the English countryside does not only focus on the rolling green landscapes and magnificent monuments that set England apart from the rest of the world. Many of the contributors bring their own special touch, presenting a refreshingly eclectic variety of personal icons, from pub signs to seaside piers, from cattle grids to canal boats, and from village cricket to nimbies. The original contributions come from Bill Bryson, Michael Palin, Eric Clapton, Bryan Ferry, Sebastian Faulks, Kate Adie, Kevin Spacey, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, Richard Mabey, Simon Jenkins, John Sergeant, Benjamin Zephaniah, Joan Bakewell, Antony Beevor, Libby Purves, Jonathan Dimbleby, and many more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History, British Literature, Essays, Short Stories, Travelogue

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

As the oldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, King Charles III is the king of the United Kingdom. He ascended to the throne after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022. He is the oldest person ever to assume the British throne.

Under public scrutiny his entire life, Charles graduated from Trinity College before embarking on a military career which culminated with him commanding the HMS Bronington. He married Diana Spencer in the summer of 1981 to huge media fanfare, though the couple would eventually divorce in 1996 after years of gossip and scandal. Charles later wed longtime love, Camilla Parker Bowles, some time after Princess Diana's death. He is the father of Princes William and Harry and is also a grandfather. Among his many philanthropic and environmental endeavors are the Prince’s Trust and the Prince’s Rainforest Project.

Reviews

[Will Ansbacher · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s unfortunate that Bill Bryson didn’t write Icons, he just edited this anthology, since his own introduction - with a light-hearted swipe at seaside piers - promises way more than the following 94 mini-essays can deliver.

All of them strive for the same earnestly reverent tone, on subjects ranging from lyrical about some iconic aspect of the English countryside to maudlin reminiscences that are not really rural or even iconic. No sparks here then, yet they all felt too short, or at least they ended too abruptly, as if they were just introductions themselves: most of the celebs who wrote these “essay-lite” contributions had no idea how to structure a short column-length piece.

Apparently it was originally a coffee-table book, where I guess the text is something you only glance at uncritically while swooning over the luscious photography. The pictures, needless to say, are absent from this edition, (though I’m not sure what possible image could have accompanied the piece about discovering that country folk are more friendly than Londoners.)

Seriously, this would have been a lot better with less diversity and fewer but longer essays.

[Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

It strikes me that most people's complaint with Icons of England is that it wasn't written exclusively by Bill Bryson. Well, folks, I can understand that you might be disappointed if it was mis-advertised to you or you didn't really read the cover or synopsis and you were expecting a couple hundred pages of Bryson's humour, but that doesn't make Icons a bad book. It just means that you were not the right market. Equally, if you're looking for something fast-paced, exciting and full of action, you aren't this book's market. Icons of England is a book that is quiet and slow and full of meandering reminiscences. But then the countryside that it talks about* is like that too, isn't it? It's a series of short essays by famous (to varying degrees) people on the things they like about the English countryside. Some of these are very interesting; others are less so. But if you really love the countryside, I suspect the odd rambling memory in ode to it will be nostalgic not dull.

Even if you have not much interest in the essays, it's worth having a look at this book** for the pictures alone. For truly, they are glorious. The pictures could get all but the most determined city boys and girls interested in protecting our countryside. Who would not want to look after such beautiful places?

*published in association with Campaign to Protect Rural England
**I'm reviewing the coffee table/hardback edition

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great for the bath.

The most interesting entries in this book are those that expand on a common but unremarkable feature of England or those that provide a slice of history, or background detail. The best of them - on pub signs, on chalk horses, on the Green Man - had me scouring the web (/Wikipedia) for more information afterwarsd. Even the entry on London sewers was interesting.

As you'd expect with an anthology, not all the entries were good. Many authors described their childhood experiences as a way of introducing their icon but not all were engaging enough to successfully carry the reader along with them.

Overall though, the bad entries had their uses as there was less temptation to just keep reading, meaning that I managed to get out of the bath before the water turned cold.

[Деница Райкова · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Вечните образи на Англия", под редакцията на Бил Брайсън, изд. "Еднорог" 2020, прев. Златка Миронова

Току-що завърши едно от най-интересните ми книжни преживявания за тази година. И затова текстът, който следва, ще бъде колкото отзив за самата книга, толкова и анализ на това преживяване.
Това прочитане на тази книга не беше първата ми среща с нея.
Първата беше много отдавна - дори не помня вече преди колко години, но вероятно са поне осем, при положение, че е издадена на английски през 2010 г. Вече бях открила Брайсън за себе си и купувах всяка негова книга, до която се добера - без значение дали на английски или в превод на български. И точно по време на един такъв "книжен лов" попаднах на "Icons of England".
Излишно е да казвам, че я изчетох със скоростта на светлината. Независимо от факта, че в случая Брайсън е "само" съставител и автор на въведението. Просто бях убедена, че щом той участва по какъвто и да е начин в създаването на тази книга, няма начин тя да не си заслужава.
Оказах се права. И, както вече споменах, я изчетох бързо и с удоволствие.
После минаха години. Изпълнени с още книги.
И преди няколко дни, когато разтворих българския превод на тази книга, установих, че не помня нищо от предишното й прочитане.
Да си призная, това ме зарадва. Защото така преживяването щеше да е наистина ново - между другото, в процеса на четене ми "проблуснаха" все пак няколко спомена, като този за оградните прелези. Забавен факт: точно тези дни, работейки по превод, попаднах точно на английския "термин" за тази дума точно в деня, когато четях главата от тази книга, посветена на оградните прелези.
И така, четенето на тази книга се оказа пътуване. Приятно и изненадващо. Защото за мен четенето й сега наистина беше, сякаш я отварям за пръв път.
Едно предупреждение към бъдещите й читатели: Не очаквайте, водени от залавието, да намерите тук популярни английски "символи" като Биг Бен, катедралата "Сейн Пол", "Тауър Бридж" или Уестминстърското абатство. Това не е "градска" книга. Напротив, с всяка своя страница, с всеки свой ред, тя е възхвала на английската провинция. Тук не се говори за конкретни забележителности. А за места, които са били, са - и дано още дълго продължат да бъдат - съкровена част от английския провинциален живот. Неща и места, които авторите на есетата в тази книга обичат не защото те са от ключово значение за историята на страната, а защото, преди всичко, са били част от тяхното детство и младост. Тази книга е опит - при това много успешен - за "документиране" на духа на английската провинция. И то чрез неща като разоворите за ремето, английските дъъбове, яребичите ята, английските гномчета. Знаехте ли, че в Англия има графство с форма на съце? Аз не знаех...
Хората, които Брайсън кани да се включат с есета в тази книга, са най-различни - писатели, телевизионни водещи, журналисти, членове на парламента, музиканти, артисти. Но общото между тях е едно: всеки има в душата и сърцето си свой съкровен образ на Англия, символ, който иска да съхрани. И независимо с какво се занимават, всички тези хора говорят с безкрайна обич за образа, който са избрали да опишат.
"Вечните образи на Англия" е богата книга. Увлекателна, интересна, на моменти носталгична, понякога дори малко тъжна, защото някои от "вечните образи" в крайна сметка се оказват не толкова вечни. Това е книга, написана с обич. И от нея могат да се научат много неща - за хората, за природата, за всичко, което си струва да бъде опазено. Рядко си позволявам да правя директни препоръки, но този път ще го направя. Прочетете тази книга! Всяка дума в нея си заслужава.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this gorgeous book was like taking a walk down memory lane! The photographs of eclectic British icons of the countryside are lovely. What makes this book truly special are the essays accompanying the photographs which are very meaningful & enjoyable to read.

[Santhosh · Rating 3 out of 5]

94 pieces about the woods, the downs, the heaths, the marrows, the crags, the moors, the orchards, the cider farms, the brecklands, the grasslands, and the marshlands; evensongs, stand-alone trees, hares, protean shapes, cherries, summer fêtes; village spires, stiles, pub signs, churchyards, red postboxes, arboretums, and monuments; holloways, hedgerows, drystone walls, estuaries, broads, water meadows, cattle grids, sheepfolds, English country houses, and milestones; Nimbys, ploughmen, family butchers, local stores, family historians, rural friendliness, and the village cricket.

Gave a more vivid outline to images of the English countryside given base by literature and popular culture. A touch overboard with the waxing lyrical bit though, which is bound to happen when writing about such things; would be better enjoyed by anglophiles and those who've previously experienced something of the English countryside.

[Andrea]

Basically a kind of advertisement for England - I'd recommend it for anyone feeling homesick, or perhaps planning a holiday there.

Also greatly appreciate the introduction of the term 'holloway'. A word/concept that just aches to be pivotal in a novel. I'm totally going to add one to Tangleways or somewhere else in the Trifold series.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read if you're a nostalgic, anglophile like me

[Hazeanni · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's walking down the memory lane on the most nostalgic heritage of the English countryside. It featured personal reminiscence by various notable people commemorating the most meaningful aspect of rural life.

My impression, this book had an excellent idea but average execution on essays writing parts.

The general idea of celebrities contributed by penning their favorites' to the worthy cause of CPRE was very noble indeed. Combined that with Bill Bryson presidency of CPRE (At the time book published. He wrote the introduction), a worldwide renowned bestselling travel author, a former English Heritage commissioner. That's brilliant.

Having recognized name didn't ensure ability to compose a heartfelt celebration within the limitation of 2 or 3 pages. Some did well with very insightful recollections that touched my heart. Some were rightfully boring and bland. It's a hit or miss.

Did I regret reading this? No. It gave me ideas regarding the off the beaten path to discover England. It would make a good companion for those intended to explore off the trail attractions. I got better glances on rural customs and learned of landmarks I never knew existed (like Hadrian's Wall), through their writings.

Collectively, subjects not limited to stereotypical landmarks and landscapes. It included tangible features; great oak trees, cattle grid and pub signs. Of intangible cultures; the tradition of local family butcher, village's cricket and bonfire night. Variety-wise, very good. It had a good representation of what quintessentially English.

Here are some of great entries I loved.
- A Passion for Meat by Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones.
Paying homage to a master butcher, Phillip Warren of Warren's Butchers in Launceston, Cornwall. It's a personal call for people to support their local meat shop. This appeal much to me. I love support local business when possible.

- My Little Piece of History by Rosie Boycott.
An exciting recollection on the seaside pier of Lyme Regis. At Mary Anning's fossil shop, you could buy an ancient historical momento for as little as £2.50. This is kind of place I would like to put on my itinerary.

- Paradise Found by John Sergeant.
A childhood remembrance of living in Tew village during 50s in the Oxfordshire. The picture is very beautiful. No wonder it once been voted as the most beautiful village in England. I decided to re-enter to my to-buy-list, a pictorial book on Cotswolds village.

- The Road Taken by Robert McFarlane.
A historical account on old sunken roads. It's as deep as 20ft and dated back from Iron Age to the early 18th century . Some still exist in soft stone counties of southern England. Another place I would consider to venture.

- What a Waste by Eric Clapton
A melancholic rendering of the bygone era on seeing Newlands corner being converted into rubbish dump.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I let this pass me by when it first came out. I think Mr Bryson had got himself involved with a number of slight though agreeable as ever projects around that time, or just lots of things, I forget, and I wasn't in a particular hurry for another.

I am glad I didn't pass up this opportunity though. This version is not the 'lavish coffee table' version but has more entries. What it lacks in what I assume is gorgeous photography in the other is (almost) made up for by exquisite little black and white prints at the beginning of each piece. It's been skilfully put together, not merely a collection of the usual suspects, either in contributors or subjects and hardly a bum note in it. It's only John Julius Norwich who spoils his l piece with sourness - inevitably some of the entries are a remembrance of times past but on the whole it's a hopeful book and not weighed down by an attitude that "Modern Life is Rubbish"

Muhammad Abdul Bari on Land's End, Benjamin Zephaniah on the Malvern Hills, Alexei Sayle on Rural Friendliness, Vince Cable on the Urban Village and Kevin Spacey on canal boating on the Kennet and Avon were particular highlights.

[Sara Q]

Discovered from this tweet: RT @MargaretAtwood If you like rambling & exploring, you'll love Icons of England (ed. Bill Bryson), Black Swan Press. Treasure trove of wonderful places.

[Габриела Иванова · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ох, пак съм без думи и то не защото ми е харесала книгата. Пет месеца я четох поради простата причина, че беше скучна. Не помня да съм чела много разкази и реших да опитам. Мислех, че ще са интересни и лесно ще се четат. Да, наистина се четат бързо, но самият стил на писане на всеки един от авторите беше скучен,безличен и монотонен, повтаряше се едно и също нещо 350 страници, но написано с други думи.
Основната идея в книгата, че хората са твърде погълнати от модерния свят, забързаното си ежедневие и не обръщат почти никакво внимание на провинциалния свят, ми хареса. Също така и темата за това как все повече и повече площ бива застроявана и заличава природата лека-полека, е тъжната истина. Как изчезват стотици акри гори, пасища и овощни градини и по този начин си отива поминъкът на много хора в провинцията и заради това повечето отиват в големите градове. Допадна ми, че са засегнати такива теми, затова давам и 2 звезди. Имаше някои неща, за които се хващах и ме накараха да я дочета до край.
Разказите, които описваха къщурките в гората, пейзажите, пасищата, те ми бяха по-интересни, отколкото тези за виадукти, отпадни канали, сметища и всякакви други неща от този род.
Хареса ми, че преди началото на всеки разказ, под заглавието му, имаше картинка с цел изобразяване основната му идея.
Мисля, че ще е подходящо, ако се четат всеки следобед с чая (типично по английски) и така би могло да се потъне по-дълбоко в атмосферата.
За друг минус смятам твърде голямото възвеличаване на Англия. Все едно няма друга страна като нея, единствено тя си заслужава да бъде видяна и т.н. Наистина, разказите са за Англия, но ми дойде в повечко това преувеличаване колко велика държава е Англия. За мен Англия е една доста дъждовна страна с неособено благоприятен климат и колкото и хубави описания да имаше, не можах да ги усетя. Предпочитам южните страни като Италия, Испания, Португалия.
Книгата е нещо като пътеводител, има точни описания на местата и дори в някои от разказите има специално написано как може да се стигне до конкретните дестинации. За някой интересуващ се от Острова, би могла информацията вътре да му е полезна, даже и интересна. Всеки има различен вкус и това определено не беше моето, но това не значи, че на друг няма да му допадне.
Цитати: - "Казват, че който сади дървета, се грижи за щастието на бъдещите поколения."
- "Всички английски провинциални къщи и имения, без значение дали са особено пищни и величествени или не, са по своята същност домове: убежища сред външния свят, в които хората са живели, обичали и са умирали. Извън функционалостта си като покрив над главата именията са били и са кътчета, даряващи утеха и покой: среща на практичността с красотата. Англичанинът възприема дома си като въплъщение на самия живот, там той намира щастие и духовен покой."

[Jarek · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a collection of 90+ short essays, this book was frustratingly uneven. Not just in writing styles and awkwardly wrapped-up stories, but as far as in the definition of Rural England itself. It is a small part of England that Twickenham ("the urban village" - we're not London we swear), Kew Gardens ("two minutes from Tube"), Euston Arch, and Hampstead Heath on one end and the most remote moors on the other don't cover.

Too many stories were about banal, obvious, uninteresting, or not particularly English things (a writer listening to birdsong through a microphone, a short summary of author's father's career in RAF, an argument in favour of NIMBYs dripping with entitlement), but maybe reading those is English too.

I wish there was an edition cut down to the ~20 actually interesting, well-written stories.

[Gabriella Momchilova · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Вечните образи на Англия" е книга, състояща се от 96 есета от различни хора (някои известни, други не). Тя е под редакцията на Бил Брайсън и има включен предговор от Негово Кралско Височество принца на Уелс. В есетата се разказва за абсолютно всякакви аспекти от живота в провинцията, за времето, за различни значими и не толкова значими исторически забележителности. Някои есета бяха много интересни, други бяха написани с истинска обич и плам. Имаше и такива, които не бяха особено интересни, но все пак това е неизбежно, имайки предвид големия брой творби и различни тематики. ⠀

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of essays on England. Those who love Shakespeare will appreciate one of the essays in this collection.

[The Librarian's Granddaughter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories by various celebrities edited by Bill Bryson. An American in England, as Bill Bryson is called, shows how the country is much more than a London and its beauty is far from limited to famous tourist sites. In the book we see personal stories about nature, weather, pubs, childhood and the countryside. Of course, I couldn't like all of the stories, but there were a lot a really fancied. There are a few things that were very boring to me, but the stories were quite short and read quickly. So after something I didn't like, the next thing was intriguing.

Often when we hear the name of the UK we imagine rain. I expected to read about the poor weather in almost every story, but I was pleasantly surprised. Instead, I read about trees with ancient history, small islands with beautiful flora, bizarre signs in pubs and beautiful parks. From time to time I would stop and open Google looking for the place in question, which was discussed in the story I was reading. I marked out places to visit when I manage to get there.

I recommend this collection of stories to all who are fascinated by England, and thus who wish to visit it. At the end of the book are written the names of the authors, who took their time to describe what they like in the country. I am glad that the author had a desire to create something so beautiful and useful, and that the book reached Bulgarian readers!

[Yuvaraj kothandaraman]

"Icons of England" is a celebration masquerading as a coffee table book. Bill Bryson, an American who became President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), invited over ninety of Britain's most beloved writers, broadcasters, and personalities to answer one question: what do you consider to be an "icon of England"? The result is a collection of deeply personal essays that proves England's identity is not built from Stonehenge and Big Ben, but from postboxes, deer parks, rural branch lines, and wild orchids. All royalties go to CPRE, a charity dedicated to protecting the English countryside. This book is conservation activism wrapped in beautiful prose.



Kate Adie opens with "In Search of England's Gnomes," writing about deer in country parks. She recalls childhood trips to Swaledale and Teesdale, stopping at Staindrop village to watch over the drystone wall at Raby Castle's vast park. She describes waiting hopefully for deer to appear, those "rather grand" creatures with twitching tails. Adie notes that deer are elusive, playing hide-and-seek with people who expect them to jump onto bonnets of cars. She argues that real deer are worth seeing because they come as a surprise, elegant and delicate, ready to bound into cover. For her as a child, seeing deer was "the icing on the cake" of a countryside trip.

George Alagiah writes about the English countryside itself as an idea, not just a place. He recalls arriving from Ghana in 1967, age eleven, hearing the phrase "the country" for the first time. He describes how the Industrial Revolution made the English countryside something to escape to rather than something tied to identity (as it was in Ghana or Sri Lanka). Alagiah reflects on a recent weekend walking along the river Ottery in North Cornwall, ending at Widgery Cross on Brat Tor, watching sunset over Dartmoor. He explains that the countryside requires leaving BlackBerry behind, stopping and looking when you want, and learning from locals (like the fact that starlings twist in unison because outer birds try to reach the safer inside). After forty years, he finally understands what "going to the country" means and invites others to join him.

Peter Ashley writes about postboxes. He describes his mother lifting him up to one at the end of their road as a child, posting letters "skimming into the darkness." He recalls imagining mail collected in underground caverns by post elves, and his brother warning him about sewing mailbags in jail. Ashley traces postbox history to Anthony Trollope in 1852 on the Channel Islands, arriving on mainland England in 1853 at Botchergate, Carlisle. He discusses how he collected royal ciphers as a child (using an I-Spy book), tracing Victoria's flowing script, George V's spare initials, and even Edward VIII's cipher on a few boxes before he abdicated. Ashley notes the variety of designs: vertical-slitted boxes in Dorset, Penfold hexagonal boxes in Chiswick with acanthus leaves, and double boxes on city streets. He reveals one box has a snail trap at the bottom, designed to prevent shells from consuming mail. Ashley expresses fear these icons might disappear but notes an agreement exists between Royal Mail and English Heritage to conserve them.

Clive Aslet celebrates ancient trees, particularly those 500+ years old. England has more ancient trees than France and Germany combined, he claims. Aslet discusses the Fortingall Yew in Scotland, possibly one of Europe's oldest living organisms, calculated in millennia. Because it's still growing and hollow, it cannot be carbon-dated or have its rings counted. He describes visiting the Bowthorpe Oak in Lincolnshire, so big its hollow trunk was used as a dining room in the 18th century. Aslet uses the word "numinous." He explains Britain's ancient trees exist because of aristocratic hunting needs (parkland required open country with free-standing trees) and because Britain was largely at peace throughout the 18th century onward, sparing trees from marauding armies. These trees, now "shrunk into senescence," become host to bats and invertebrates when dying, making ancient trees "Britain's equivalent of rainforests."

Paul Atterbury writes about rural branch lines. The Victorians built 20,000 miles of railway by 1900, linking every town and many villages. Branch lines were most important socially, carrying people to school, work, shopping, holidays, and courting trips. After the 1950s, roads took over, and despite Victorians' belief systems that subsidized branch lines, the 1960s saw thousands of miles of railway disappear. Atterbury encourages readers to seek surviving lines rather than preserved tourist railways. He lists examples: Cornwall has Liskeard to Looe and St Erth to St Ives; East Anglia has Marks Tey to Sudbury and Norwich to Sheringham; Oxfordshire has lines to Henley and Marlow; the Midlands, North, and Wales have branches to Matlock, Whitby, and through Snowdonia to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Scotland has no surviving classic branch lines, he notes sadly.

Joan Bakewell writes about the river Alde estuary in Suffolk near Aldeburgh. She describes it as "an awesome thing" where fresh water presses into the ocean. Bakewell loves its meandering twists toward the North Sea. She discusses the Aldeburgh Music Festival taking place along its banks in a converted maltings (red-brick buildings sitting low in the landscape), with the ancient Iken church alone on the horizon. As the Alde widens, it passes Aldeburgh (a one-street town) and finds Orford with its pretty harbour (where Britten's Peter Grimes set boats out to sea). Beyond lies a fierce coast where winds and tides lash hard. Legend says at Dunwich further north, you can hear drowned church bells tolling beneath the sea. Bakewell notes the Alde wasn't always innocent: in the last wars, they chose desolate Shingle Street for military experiments. Today, oystercatchers haunt the place. Bakewell concludes that despite change and history being washed away, the Alde's timelessness gives the estuary charm.

Muhammad Abdul Bari writes about Land's End, remembering childhood in a Bangladeshi village near the capital with pristine paddy fields in summer and golden mustard flowers in winter. He trained with RAF College Cranwell in Lincolnshire in the late 1970s and later returned to study for a PhD in physics. He describes Land's End (about ten miles from Penzance) as magnificent, with granite cliffs and the Atlantic on three sides. On clear days, you can make out the Isles of Scilly and Longships Lighthouse. Bari notes that standing on the tip of the hill, looking at endless water, rendered him speechless. The power of the ocean and strength of cliffs reduce you to "a mere spectator of nature, a tiny observer of the cosmos." Land's End teaches you about yourself as you stare across the ocean. The Cornish coastal path from Poole Harbour covers the coast to Somerset and the Bristol Channel, passing Sennen Cove. Bari wishes everyone (especially young Muslim people from inner cities) could experience such beauty.

Simon Barnes writes about hares. On horseback, he saw what he thought was a rabbit that suddenly transfigured into a hare, shifting to a "Serengeti gallop" at 45 mph. Barnes discusses the hare's many Middle English names including "stubble-stag" and "stook-deer" (from Seamus Heaney's translation of The Names of the Hare). He notes the Easter bunny is a hare (believed to lay eggs in open fields). There were once four million hares in England; now about 80,000. Half live in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire (the dry side). Under the Biodiversity Action Plan, populations were supposed to double by 2010, but didn't. Though rarely seen, hares fire the English imagination. Barnes describes other transmutations: swifts becoming hobbies, jackdaws becoming choughs with red beaks, white butterflies becoming orange-tips. He argues that when a hare shows itself, "the world transitions from ordinary to special; from mundane to marvellous."

Laura Barton writes about "Summer Is Icumen In," a traditional English round from around 1260 in Middle English (Wessex dialect). From the Reading Abbey manuscript, possibly by W. de Wycombe, it declares "Summer has come in, /Loudly sing, cuckoo!" It describes the ewe bleating after lamb, the cow lowing after calf, and "the stag farts." Barton notes it's one of the earliest instances of counterpoint and first examples with both religious (Latin version about the Crucifixion) and secular lyrics. Written for four voices with two deeper interchanging voices, it illustrates the major mode and ground-bass. Barton sees it as a "glorious precursor to rock 'n' roll" concerning "sex and noise and the sheer joy of being alive." Sung in the round, it mimics delights of English springtime when buds unwind, hedgerows spill over, and the frozen stream thaws. The endless round sends the message: "Life will always begin once more."

Sister Wendy Beckett writes about country churchyards. Opening the lychgate (from "lych," Anglo-Saxon for corpse), you find locked churches but sacred ground around them where centuries of congregants rest. Beckett describes unmarked graves covered by smooth grass, tombstones standing erect or leaning, and lichens and rare mosses decorating the stone (because churchyards are unpolluted). She mentions the lychgate's small roof, where villagers brought bodies for the priest to accompany to the grave. Beckett contrasts Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," which focuses on "rude forefathers" and their "useful toil" and "homely joys," with her belief that the churchyard's "benison" in stillness requires quiet minds to receive it. The yew tree's shade is significant.

Antony Beevor writes about Jocelyn Brooke, a botanist specializing in orchids who became an acclaimed novelist, living at Bishopsbourne less than three miles from Beevor's Kent home. Brooke spent years on The Wild Orchids of Britain (published 1952) before gaining recognition after WWII by merging botanical interests with lyrical, semi-fictional childhood memories. Anthony Powell admired his Proustian nostalgia. Brooke's novels contained strong homoerotic subtexts (terrifying his repressive-age publishers), expressed in loving descriptions of rare orchids: lizard, monkey, bee orchids, and the phallic military orchid (title of his first novel). Brooke's love affair with a Seaforth Highlanders soldier based near Dover appears veiled in the book. Beevor notes lady orchids appear in his wood and fields (ten at once one year), but many varieties have decreased due to shifting from sheep-grazing to horse paddocks. The area has changed astonishingly little due to narrow roads and distant villages, preventing commuter sprawl. "Each spring, the bluebell woods of beech, sweet chestnut and hazel bring back Brooke's 'private kingdom.'" Less than half a mile from Beevor's gate lies the isolated Dog pub (later renamed Clambercrown), title of Brooke's most admired novel. Brooke's melancholic nature found escape in writing and wild flowers.

David Bellamy celebrates grouse moors. He explains that Britain's only endemic bird thriving with over sixty million people lives in people-managed landscapes. The "rot set in" when Stone Age immigrants discovered the Lake District's greenstone, quarried and polished for axe heads to fell ancient forests. Post-glacial hunter-gatherers found trees impeded chasing, so "slash and burn became the principal" creating our "most cherished natural landscapes." Bronze and iron tools made tree removal easier, but soil leaching and erosion turned uplands into acidic moorland and peat-covered, treeless wilderness. This created the ideal grouse habitat. The 19th-century Little Ice Age ending and increased CO2 boosted tree growth, again threatening open vistas, but grouse moors were already managed by regular burning, creating patchy different-aged heather stands. Bellamy salutes gamekeepers as "practical conservationists without equal." Red grouse, found naturally only in Britain, are ground dwellers vulnerable to predators. They eat heather's young regrowth shoots and daddy-long-legs. "In the blooming pink of high summer there is little to beat the spectacle of a grouse moor." This provides "free range cordon pink game" while ensuring heather honey for tea.

Floella Benjamin writes about English weather. She arrived in England from Trinidad on 1 September 1960, aged about six, wearing a flimsy party dress. The ship neared Southampton as "the insidious chill penetrated" her dress. Her mother waited with woolly jumpers, having learned about "the vagaries of the English weather." As the train sped toward London, Benjamin was "intoxicated by the greenness of the countryside" – rolling hills, towering woodland, each tree its own emerald shade tinged with early autumn gold. She contrasts Trinidad's evergreen rainforest (briefly covered by warm, sensual rain in buckets) with England's thin, icy rain from "dark, brooding clouds." Winter's trees lost leaves, exposing branches "like skeletons reaching for the sky." She was fascinated by smoke billowing from her mouth, thinking there was fire in her chest. Smog from coal-burning chimneys (looking like soldiers guarding slated rooftops) crept through streets, cutting visibility dramatically, creating "a ghostly atmosphere." The morning she awoke to find her room filled with an "eerie clear light" and "muffled silence," she rushed to the window and saw "a pure whiteness" – thick, fluffy snow – and "fell in love with snow." After fifty years, she still sighs with joy as seasons unfold, finding "inner peace" as President of the Ramblers' Association, walking "England's mountains green."

Richard Benson writes about rural sensuality, recalling summer 1984 at age eighteen, constructing a straw stack on the East Yorkshire Wolds with friend Johnny. After unloading trailerful of bales, they pulled unripe, bitter Bramleys from nearby larch, damson, and apple trees and sat eating them in serenity. Instead of insulting each other (as usual), they sat "in happy silence for about a quarter of an hour," as if "swallowing part of the glorious afternoon." Benson has vivid sensory recollections: "the faint wind – warm from the baking Wolds – on my face; the leafy stir of trees around the stack; the slightly sour, earthy odour of barley straw and the virile green scent of summer verges." He notes there's "no meaningful visual element to this memory," which is telling – people forget the countryside's powerful sensuality. Instead of viewing landscapes (which can feel "unreal"), one should walk a green lane, stop, close eyes for a minute, listen, smell, feel, suck air in, and "the place enters into you." The English landscape has "distinctive ease and quiet luxuriance" – generally moist, lush, soft, with ample curves. Benson's desert-island sensations include "the fragrance of peas harvested on a summer evening; the foot-feel of frozen mud ruts under your boots on an early January morning and the keening of an invisible light aircraft." He and Johnny later agreed it was probably their first moment fully aware of the countryside's "infinite, indifferent splendour."

(Essays continue with othe contributors)

The book concludes with Bill Bryson noting the risk of ending up with obvious choices (Stonehenge, the changing of the guard), but instead celebrates idiosyncratic, personal icons reflecting G. M. Trevelyan's belief that places have "interest or a beauty of association, as well as an absolute or aesthetic beauty." Bryson enters "an imaginary dialogue" with contributors. He discusses how Fiona MacCarthy's Kelmscott Manor evokes memories of walking from Filkins village. He reflects on Sebastian Faulks's pub signs essay, disagreeing with his tutor who despised Britain as a "pub culture." Bryson mentions his favourite pub, the Five Alls in Filkins, listing the five characters (lawyer, parson, soldier, farmer, Devil). He notes drab modern chains taking over quirky local pubs. He emphasizes that "local distinctiveness matters. Small things, seemingly insignificant patches of countryside can be 'iconic' to those who love them" – like Terence Blacker's Lonely Road, dismissed as having "unexceptional" landscape quality but much-loved and worth protecting. He celebrates CPRE's eighty-four years of opposition to "unnecessary developments" while making "constructive suggestions for accommodating necessary developments." CPRE is optimistic but acknowledges "the seriousness of the threats facing the countryside." A poll suggested the ten most popular icons "face the risk of serious erosion or even extinction" – "local pubs, red phone boxes, hedgerows and drystone walls, village greens (ideally with cricket played on them), local varieties of food and village churches and churchyards." These things aren't economically 'viable' but are "essential to our quality of life and our sense of identity." Bryson concludes: "There are particular places in England that come as close to perfection as you're ever likely to find on this planet. The English countryside is incredibly beautiful, dangerously finite and inexpressibly precious. We can secure a better future for the English countryside. We must. And we will."


The word "icon" is key. It usually means something grand and universally recognized. But Bryson's introduction deliberately flips this meaning. He argues that English icons have four special qualities: (1) they can be magnificent while having no purpose at all (the seaside pier), (2) they are so common they are overlooked, (3) many of them are disappearing, and (4) people love them deeply. A seaside pier that lets you walk out and see murky water, with no practical function whatsoever, becomes the perfect English icon. This book celebrates things that matter intensely to individuals but wouldn't win a heritage award.

The range is genuinely impressive. You get insights from Melvyn Bragg on the Lake District, David Bellamy on grouse moors, Andy Goldsworthy on art in nature, and Daljit Nagra on a corner shop. This diversity prevents any single agenda from dominating.

Professional writers and communicators deliver work that sparkles. David Lodge's essay connects stiles to Jane Eyre, The Pickwick Papers, and Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Sister Wendy Beckett's meditation on churchyards feels genuinely spiritual without preaching. The writing is accessible but never dumbed down.

Unlike many coffee table books, this one has genuine purpose. Profits fund CPRE's conservation work.

My Rating:4/5

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was rather nostalgic for me, since I left England forty years ago, only returning for vacations. I was expecting longer, more in-depth essays, but the nearly ninety short pieces offered do cover a lot of ground, both literally and figuratively. Of course, after forty years away, I had no idea who all these contributors were, so I had resort to trusty Wikipedia. I was struck by the large number of “broadcasters” who seem to be making high quality documentaries mostly for television in England. Obviously a different world from the U.S.A.!

[Ints · Rating 3 out of 5]

Braisona grāmata, nelasīta man mājās nostāvēja veselus trīs gadus. Tas tā nebūtu noticis, ja vien Braisons būtu tās autors, nevis tikai sastādītājs. Grāmatas ideja ir pavisam jauka, daudzi desmiti, Anglijas rakstnieku, katrs uzrakstījuši īsu stāstiņu, par viņuprāt Anglijas galveno ikonu. Ko tādu, kas varētu iekrist sirdī ne tikai viņiem, bet arī citiem. Un tā pa visiem saprastu, ka būtu labi Anglijas laukus atstāt tādus kādi viņi ir.

Kādam tas ir lauku ceļš, citam purvs, putnu dziesmas vai ķieģeļu tilts. Visas šīs lietas viņuprāt būtu nododamas nākamajām paaudzēm. Grāmatas lielākā problēma ir katra autora stāsta īsums, no lapaspuses līdz divām ar pus. Skaidra lieta, ka ne visi ir tik izcili īso stāstu lasītāji. Un lai arī daži stāsti ir sentimentāli aizkustinoši, tomēr mana sirds nebija tik plaša veseliem pussimts stāstiem. Ar laiku viņi mani sāka atklāti garlaikot. Te ir tikai emocijas, faktu pavisam maz.

Kopumā grāmata varētu aizraut īstenu angli, kas pēc tējas dzeršanas vēlas izlasīt nedaudz par savu tēvzemi. Vispār jau viņiem tās vietas un lietas, kas definē Angliju nemaz tik daudz neatšķiras no Latvijas. Mums jau arī patīk lauku vidū augoši koki, meži un akmeņi. Varbūt mums nav tāda vājība uz kaļķakmeni un tendence visur ganīt aitas.

[Janet Gardner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a sadly disappointing book. I picked it up because the wonderful Bill Bryson edited it, and I hoped his mark on it would be strong. I kept reading because there were a few gems among these short essays (like, maybe 4 or 5 of the 90+), and I kept hoping for another. But so many of them were just little verbal rambles that amounted to little more than "Sports fields are nice because people play sports on them!" or "Aren't clouds rather nifty?" or something equally uninteresting, and generally the writing was little more than serviceable. Many of the so-called "Icons of England" are neither iconic nor specifically English: birdsong, wildflowers, cattle grids, rural friendliness (this last being a particularly pointless piece in which a displaced Londoner professes being shocked--SHOCKED!--to find that people in the country talk to one another). And even when the subject WAS something deeply English, all too often the essay amounted to nothing more than the author recalling how much he or she loved [seaside holidays, walks on the moors, bluebell woods...whatever] when he or she was young. Far and away the best thing in the book was the scant half dozen pages of introduction written by Bryson. Ah, well…at least it was a fairly quick read.

[Gary E · Rating 4 out of 5]

not what I expected but very enjoyable

I did not read anything about the book before I requested that my library purchase it. I saw it was by Bill Bryson and that was enough for me! Well it turns out that this was edited by Bill Bryson and it was written by roughly 100 people a few pages at a time. So it was not at all what I expected!

But it was extremely enjoyable. I laughed out loud in places and I got nostalgic in others and teary eyed in others. It is a wonderful book about what various people consider to be the icons of England. It is well worth reading either as a kind of idea about what to try to see when visiting the island or just as a nature lover or whatever! The style of the book does not lend itself to reading quickly . . . so if you are looking for a quick read I would suggest looking elsewhere. But if you like nature and icons give it a read I doubt you will be disappointed!

[Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a Bill Bryson book (thankfully) he only wrote one essay in here. It is a collection of essays on 'English Icons' of the atypical variety, by various writers, poets, artists and public figures including immigrants. It focuses primarily on the countryside, but also features several urban and architectural 'icons.' You will not find the Tower, Buckingham Palace or double decker buses in here (thankfully) but things like; holloways, birdsong, mist, cider orchards, moors, limestone, viaducts and churchyards - all things that are bound up in my experience of and love for England. Reading this brought back so many memories and sensations. My only criticism is that the essays were too short, I could read whole books on some of these topics! (though maybe not cricket..)

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book of short essays about the beauty and uniqueness of the English Countryside. I have read complaints that it wasn't all written by Bill Bryson, but I am somewhat glad about that. Don't get me wrong, I love Mr. Bryson, but it was nice to read essays about England that describe what an aspect of English countryside means to them. Its so personal.

This book was a gift from very good friends of mine who happen to be English and I have had the pleasure of exploring some of this beautiful country with them. What a gift this was!!

[Sean Keefe · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tourist information pamphlet, and nothing more. It's described as a collection of essays, but it's more like a collection of blurbs from the backs of National Trust attractions. Nothing at all here that the average Briton wouldn't already know.
Pleasant, if you read the Daily Express and yearn for a bygone England that never really existed.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Various contributors share their sentimental favorite "icons" of rural England -- moors, red phone boxes, the weather, villages, butcher shops, the shipping forecast, sheep, pubs, cathedrals, the Green Man -- it's all here. Delightful.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly great collection of essays on England, a delight to read. I would recommend this book to all.

[Louise Bath · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book for dipping into and reading on the loo! The variety of 'icons' lauded in this book is amazing, taking in all kinds of gems; it's a fascinating read about the English countryside past and present. There's definitely something here, as they say, for everyone!

The list of contributors is equally eclectic. There are those you might expect; eg Michael Wood, Alan Titchmarsh, Dame Floella Benjamin, Michael Palin, Sir Melvyn Bragg, Terry Jones, Jonathan Porritt, Dick Francis, David Bellamy, Bill Bryson, and Sister Wendy Beckett. Then there are those you might *not* expect: eg Benjamin Zephaniah, Alexei Sayle, the late Anthony Sher, Bryan Ferry, and Kevin Spacey.

I enjoyed all of these mini-essays to a greater or lesser degree. However, my favourite entry is The View From The Urals by Adrian Chiles. This is his paeon to the Clent Hills, which I've been able to see every day from my bedroom window for longer than I care to relate.

[Dorothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this anthology of short essays about England. Some pieces filled me with nostalgia while others made me wish I could fly to England and enjoy some of the experiences written about here.

[Sheila Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed these tiny essays although there were many ‘celebrities’ I had never heard of! All readers were good except the elderly male voice which, for me, certainly grated when reading famous authors whose voices I know well, including Raymond Blanc, Melvyn Bragg and Simon Hoggart.

There are some delightful images, including Nicholas Crane’s “amphibious boyhood”, Johnathan Dimbleby’s “sand-flecked sandwiches” or Alexi Sayle’s “being friendly just for the sake of it”.

[Helen Turnock · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love bill Bryson forever