The Local

by Paul Jennings

The pub has been at the heart of English life for centuries, evolving from elegant coaching houses and humble alehouses through Victorian backstreet beerhouses and ‘fine, flaring’ gin palaces to the drinking establishments of the twenty-first century. In this new and revised edition, historian Paul Jennings takes us on a fascinating journey over three centuries of pub life. Set within the wider context of social change, Jennings delves into the lives of the customers who frequented them, as well as those of the men and women who ran them, and takes a closer look at their architecture and interior design. The Local has been brought up to date to record both the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on English pubs and what it tells us about pubs’ continuing importance to English people.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Paul Jennings was born in Heston near London, and at the age of 6 emigrated to Melbourne, Australia on a boat. He was on the boat for 5 weeks with his family. He attended Bentleigh West Primary School and Caulfield Grammar School.

After graduating from school, he went to Frankston Teachers College (now part of Monash University) and became a teacher. He taught students at Frankston State School, Kangaroo Flat State School, the Turana Youth Training Centre, and the Royal Children's Hospital State School in Mount Eliza. He later went on to study at the Lincoln Institute of Health Science (now part of LaTrobe University) and became a speech pathologist, then worked as a Lecturer in Special Education at Burwood State College (now part of Deakin University). In 1979 he became Senior Lecturer in Language and Literature at Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education (now part of Deakin University).

In 1985, Jennings' first book of short stories, Unreal! was published, during which he worked as a lecturer and wrote part-time; in 1989, he made the decision to devote his full time to writing. Many of his short stories, published between 1985 and 1991, were also adapted into the first and second series of the popular Australian television show Round the Twist.

Winner of the Dromkeen Medal (2000).

Reviews

[James Slaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book on the history of the English pub. While academic in nature, being well referenced and thorough, it’s not all numbers and boring facts. There are many colorful anecdotes to liven up the reading.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meticulously sourced and footnoted, this provides a succinct overview of the origins of the pub, how its function, ownership and clientele changed over time, as well as why it became such a central part of English culture.