The Anglophile

by Laurie Gwen Shapiro

The Anglophile by Laurie Gwen Shapiro released on Jul 26, 2005 is available now for purchase.

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance, Contemporary

320 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2005

About the author

Laurie Gwen Shapiro is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist whose writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, New York, The Daily Beast, Lapham’s Quarterly, Slate, Aeon, The Forward, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. Her documentary film awards include an Independent Spirit Award for directing IFC’s Keep the River on Your Right, and an Emmy nomination for HBO’s Finishing Heaven. Shapiro is the 2022 winner of the Silurians Press Awards Gold Medallion for Best People Profile for “He Bombed the Nazis, Outwitted the Soviets and Modernized Christmas” for The New York Times and the 2021 winner of Best NYC Essay or Article from the GANYC Apple Awards for “The Improbable Journey of Dorothy Parker’s Ashes” for The New Yorker. The Stowaway (Simon & Schuster) was her best selling first full-length work of nonfiction, and was an Indie next selection. Her next nonfiction book will be The Aviator and the Showman, for Viking Books. July 2025.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started off so promising, but really took a nose-dive on plot pretty early. Fairly unbelievable too-fast relationship build-up, and the first big twist/jump forward in time was way too abrupt. The heroine was so flawed she wasn't really likeable. It veered too far into "look at this wacky family, aren't they the zaniest!" territory, I could have done with much less wacky family and more reason why we should believe couple loved each other after having just barely met. This felt like a book that could be polished up with a rewrite into a much better story.

[Kendall Bartels · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. Shapiro has written very real and likable characters into a very real world, while still managing to keep the fun tone of a romcom alive. There is enough space between the genre and the writing that dramatic tension is able to breathe and cause true suspense in where these characters will end up.
Truly, adoringly loved this book.

[Uglyoldwitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give this two stars because I did finish reading it, the cover is cute, and it does appear to have been gone through by a copy editor. And honestly, YAY! for anyone who manages to finish and get a book published.

The book started off well - the dialogue was witty and smart - but then it just got to be too much dialogue, all dialogue...there was little sense of scene or beats. Just a lot of talking. So. Much.
Talking. About a quarter of the way in, it really got to me - that, and the fact that I had no idea where this was heading.

I have to say - I didn't really like this girl (weirdly, I can't remember her name), I didn't much like her boyfriend, Kit. Kevin (the first boyfriend) seemed to be real and fleshed-out as a character. Other complaints - there's no real plot in this book, the sex appeared too early (and without much emotion), and Owen? That guy has some serious split-personality thing going on.

Our girl remembers him from school - painfully shy/withdrawn. We see nothing of that. Kit (the boyfriend) sees him as evil - he bristles/over-reacts when the guy shows up in a scene. And then at the end, he says, "I misjudged him and he's dating my ex-wife." (I'm paraphrasing.) Oh - and spoiler - Owen cheats. He's a big, fat, cheater.

Which, I realize, happens.

But she (the cheated-on) never responds to it. She never even says, "Wow! He's a big, fat, cheater!" There's not any mention of how she did precisely the same thing to her last boyfriend. Almost like these two thoughts never connected in her brain.

Parts of the middle (when they are in England) revert to almost this travelogue-like narrative. The part with the farmer is just odd - our girl hops in a car with Angry Owen and this ex-wife and just takes off into the countryside without knowing where/why. There's also some relationship between the farmer and Kit's mom (his daughter) that I never understood - even at the very end when they are finally talking about it - I was never quite sure what had happened and how it pertained to the story. I also found the secret garden ending unbelievably contrived.

I had problems with off-screen characters, Kit's brother, Nigel, for instance. Nigel is mentioned at the beginning but we never meet him. Then, at the very end of the book, Kit makes a comment about Nigel -- and I had to stop reading and think about who, exactly, Nigel was. Same for our main girl's friend in Chicago (Gary?) - he calls at the end (we haven't heard his name since the very beginning of the book) and I had to completely stop reading to think how/why he's important to the story.

Also on the unbelievable list: a 35 year old still working (and not very hard) on her dissertation without having any sign of a job and being from a financially struggling family. At the end, she throws it all to the wind and quits. 17 years of schooling and we're just going to...yeah, I wanted to shake this girl.

I am tempted to see if the author has any further books (this one was published in 2005?) because I really did like how this all started - she does clever dialogue and I love that.

[Gabrielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have owned this book for a long time! It's traveled to at least 3 different states with me.

Unfortunately, this book was very disappointing. Glad I can finally release it to someone else who might like it more!

There weren't many redeeming qualities besides the short length. The main character cheats on their boyfriend easily and doesn't feel much guilt. The last third of the book is rushed through with very little detail and it actually gets confusing at times.

[Christina Burnett · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book could have used some simple fact checking and better copy-editing (example: you do not drive through Gary, IN when heading to South Bend from NY state). The initial storyline was fun, but then things get weird when the characters get to England and the ending feels rushed.

[Mary Lou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Contrived and too long. Lots of unnecessary cussing.

[Cheryl McKeon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun & light!

[Alexa (Alexa Loves Books) · Rating 1 out of 5]

(Review was originally posted on Alexa Loves Books)

I'm a bit of an Anglophile. For as long as I can remember, I've loved England, its history, culture and of course, the cute boys with their British accents. Obviously, when I saw this book, I snapped it up in relative excitement.

That said, it was a bit of a disappointment to me. I had trouble getting past the first fifty pages and it really didn't hold my interest, so I struggled to get to the end of it. Though the premise was interesting at first glance, I found that I didn't like any of the characters in particular and that the love story that I'd been hoping for was basically non-existent.

One of the parts that I did end up enjoying was the bit about Abbey Road, and only because it had to do with the Beatles and London itself. I have a soft spot for touristy stuff like that, and so that particular part of the book definitely appealed to me.

And, at the very least, I was happy with how the book finally came to an end.

[Kourtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could not have read this book at a better time. I felt as though I related somewhat to the main character, having never been out of the country before, having a Brit for a boyfriend, and traveling to London for my first time. Even though that was where our similarities ended, I was still engaged in the story. This had the makings of a 5-star review until I got to the very predictable ending. The story played out so naturally, but then the about-face was too forced and didn't feel natural. I don't want to give anything away, so I will leave this review with read this one if you enjoy Red Dress Ink stories, and are looking for a light read to escape for a few hours. It only took me 2 nights to read it.

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhhh.

Nice writing style, not fantastic. Very simple and easy to read. A little chick lit fluffy, but definitely far from the best chick lit I've read. The ending is very predictable but also abrupt. Like a fairy godmother style happy ending that happens within the last page and a half. The only single interesting thing about this book was the linguist bit, which was given very little attention. It was ok, I'm not sorry I read it, but there are better books out there. This one will be going in the box for my next yard sale I'm afraid.

[Alyssa]

So many books from my days of optimism about having personal reading time during college, clashing with the reality of the workload! At the end of summer/beginning of the school year at Colgate every year, there would be a big book sale on the green in little downtown Hamilton. I remember going multiple years (Hi Susan! Remember doing this?), and always coming back with more books that I needed/could read. This is one of those, again, coinciding with my heavy chick lit reading period. Still haven't read it.

[Sherri Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started out slow and a little dull but picked up at the 100 page mark where I would normally give up and move on.

I really enjoyed Shari's trip to London and Abbey Road. :o) The supporting characters were very interesting as well. I thought things were left hanging with Shari's mother and Owen's father and unfortunately Owen really didn't develop into a three dimensional character. Shari's Aunt Dot was entertaining as well as the scenes involving the funeral of the skunk.

[Elvira · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and light story with filled with wit and a nicely wrapped up ending. The Anglophile portion of Shari had a few flaws, such as knowing nothing about the Tudors and the Church of England and being more obsessed about strange cultural kinks, like sexual stereotypes and bad teeth. The Anglophiles I know focus more on the history, traditions, and positive culture. Overall, this just became a character flaw in Shari that she must learn to see past to get the man.

[Natalia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hoped the book would be at least a little better. I might not be an Anglophile but I have special feeling for the country as a beautiful land I have had chance to live for a while and the British accent that I love. I thought the book would describe a little bit of my own feelings but it's definitely not. There's no excitement in the book that I was looking for. It simply is boring... I only read it coz it was on my book list. Although I did like the ending.

[Debbie is on Storygraph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It was a very fluffy read, but a fun one. Shari is a PhD student who adores everything British, especially men. She meets one only to find out that he is a rival scholar who has essentially killed her dissertation topic. Full of wacky characters, including Shari's aunt who collects skunks, this book kept me laughing.

[Mallory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Speaking as an Anglophile myself I loved all of the English references and tidbits throughout the novel - the descriptions of the London could have been better but just the mention of that city always makes my mouth water. I wasn't a fan of the weird love triangle at the end though - it was incredibly unrealistic and a little disgusting.

[Tara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugg. I picked this book on a whim for my kindle and got through about 4 chapters before something better came along. When I got done, I came back to it and reaffirmed my first opinion; it's aweful. The characters are interesting, but not sympathetic. There is no plot that I can find, and the premise sounds cute but is absurd. Nope.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had such high expectations of this book. I'm an anglophile and was rather disappointed. It's a typical fluffy chick lit book. I laughed out loud at some places, but wasn't wowed over it at all. The ending was very rushed and it just seemed a bit fake and unbelievable at the end.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad chick lit book, but not my favorite, either. The author needs some help with pacing, especially near the end of the book. She rushes through way too many important events in the last 50-60 pages. I would have liked to have seen some of these in more details.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very light read that was, for the most part enjoyable. The plot was a bit thin at times and the characters were fairly predictable, but if you are looking for a good way to pass a few hours on a plane, then this book would do the job.

[L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not memorable and the plot was not even close to believable. One minute she is with her British wonderboy and then she's engaged to his archrival for no apparent reason. I skipped much of the dialogue because it was boring.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. It was a little short after the climax (the first 80% of the book takes place over three weeks, the remaining 20%--if that--covers the year following.) It was lighthearted though, and the characters were vivid and it was a fun, easy read.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I'm an Anglophile myself and this book seemed to have great promise. But the book never truly captured my attention, and I found myself wanting to finish the book so I could say I finished it, not because I cared what happened. Not something I would recommend to others.

[Jenny T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing on a British reading theme...A quick modern romance between a New Yorker girl, Shari and an Englishman, Kit, complete with episodes of jealousy, awkward family & friend moments, and misunderstandings. I enjoyed reading the tourist bits with my favorite part being the Beatles tour.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, easy read. Another winner from RDI!

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, but fun, chick-flick for lovers of all things English.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

For those of us that feel that pull towards Britain. Great summer read!

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was cute. I definitely liked the plot of the Matzo Ball Heiress more, but I'm glad I finally read it!

[Roseanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable-I could relate to much of her story but felt the Anglophile part was a bit lacking. Think I was expecting more “Anglophile” and less boyfriend ordeal.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute light and fun. A woman with an obsession of all things British meets the man or her dreams. Or is he? Not a prize winner but a nice quick break from reality.