England: 1000 Things You Need to Know

by Nicholas Hobbes

This essential and timely guide to all things England and English is now available in paperback. Despite a thousand years of glorious history, the people of England know surprisingly little about the facts and fables, people and places and events and emblems that have shaped their country and its heritage. Where did John Bull come from? What is the Long Man of Wilmington? Who abolished Christmas? When did roast beef become a national dish? From the White Cliffs of Dover to MG Rover, from Newcastle Brown Ale to Royal Mail, and from John Milton to blue stilton, Nicholas Hobbes explains and celebrates every aspect of Englishness for a modern audience. The result is as entertaining as it is essential.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, British Literature, Travel

464 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2008

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book, just for reading or as a reference book! It includes information interesting to teens and adults, in a variety of subject areas!

[DeltaXIII · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had received this book as a present from my British boyfriend of two years at the time.

It's quirky, its funny, simple but well written. Do I need to know that Birmingham enjoys porn more than any other place on the planet in 2006? No but it's an interesting piece of information.

If you're English - read it.
If you're dating someone who's part English - read it.
If you like reading random pieces of information on useless things - read it.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of English trivia is a surprisingly enjoyable read. Some of the information is presented in dry lists of statistics, and several references to popular British culture went over the head of this American angliophile, but the information given is quite satisfying to the curious, and there are several gems of dry humor and wit scattered throughout that made this book a lot of fun. The sectional structure also made it easy to skim the parts I didn't really care about.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the trivia throughout!! Made nice, light reading on my trip there!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting reference book

[Dave Gunton]

Interesting and informative.

[Angela Reeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting facts

[Sue Corbett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and interesting - lists, facts on sports, kings and queens, wars, drinks, crops, art, literature, music - all sorts of stuff. Very readable and informative.

[East Greenbush Community Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a concise gathering of facts about that glorious island including national heroes, food and drink, symbols, legends and more. Tidbits include: the highest seven letter word in Scrabble is Muzjiks worth 79 points, during Jane Austen's lifetime her name did not appear on any title page, instead were the words "by a lady," Francis Bacon died in 1626 from a cold caught while stuffing a chicken with snow as an early experiment in refrigeration, David Lean offered the part of Lawrence of Arabia to both Albert Finney and Marlon Brando before Peter O'Toole and Arthur Wynne created the crossword puzzle which first appeared in a New York newspaper.

[Misty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot, but this book was deffinitely written for an Englishman.