A Field Guide to the British

by Sarah Lyall

In A Field Guide to the English, Lyall strides her way readably, eloquently and perceptively across the social, political and cultural landscape of contemporary England. In a narrative studded with memorable anecdote and rich in humour, she explores themes as diverse as peers, politics, the media, understatement, the weather, and England's relationship with animals, alcohol and sex. She ponders such matters as the missing link between the famous British reserve and our equally famous predilection for hooliganism, the strange process by which a collection of naughty schoolboys pass Parliamentary motions, and the revelations that history did not start in 1492, and that Dick Van Dyke's cockney accent in Mary Poppins was a travesty. Sarah connects our essential toughness to Bronco loo paper, the Earl of Uxbridge losing his leg at Waterloo, not turning the central heating on until mid-November, and the fact that 'some of my husband's favourite puddings have stale white bread as the main ingredient.'

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Humor, British Literature, History, Memoir, Sociology

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want to read an affectionately humorous account by an American immersed in English culture, try Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island. Much of this book, on the other hand, consists of anecdotes involving the author’s visits to Harley Street doctors and her children’s exclusive private school or hobnobbing with English friends, most of whom seem to be Old Etonians and/or from the titled classes. Many of the literary references used to highlight the English character come from Evelyn Waugh – one of my personal favorites, but considering he died 43 years ago not exactly someone with a finger on the pulse of modern Britain.

Some chapters were very amusing while others dragged. I wondered why the House of Lords merited an entire chapter, given that it is not particularly central to the lives or concerns of the average Brit. However, my main quibble in the end was that I could not shake the feeling that the author doesn’t actually like the country or its inhabitants very much. I didn’t want to read a blind homage to England, but the tone of ill humor that suffused the book was rather off putting.

[Beorn · Rating 1 out of 5]

A sarcastic, bitchy approach to a satirical synopsis of British people which does nothing to scratch the surface and openly reinforces the American stereotypes of the British.

Her idea of dissecting British identity is not only flawed - she only looks at one small, therefore unrepresentative section of society - but one that is about as deep and well researched as an article in any number of elitist society magazines.

There is no analysis of the working classes, social stereotypes, regional dialects & bias, sporting allegiance or any number of other key nuances that make up the cultural identity of the British. The only people Lyall covers are the minority who go to boarding school, Henley Regatta and all that upper crust bourgeois decadence that is about as representative of Britain as Donald Trump or Michele Bachmann is of America.

If the tables were turned and someone from Britain were to write a book on Americana, the equivalent would be someone from Hello magazine analysing Americans through only looking at those who live on gated communities, belong to country clubs and probably vote Republican.

Highly skewed and comes off as remarkably dumb trying to paint itself smart. The only evidence the book offers to support its insinuations is anecdotes, hearsay and quotes lifted from other people's books.

This is on top of a writing style that can only be described as smug, condescending and self absorbed.

Woeful.

[Elle · Rating 1 out of 5]

"British men are so gay. They'll say they're not, but that's because they're British and so repressed. I've heard they don't even like the word 'vagina.' Maybe it was because they were paddled on the arse as boys. Did I mention they have bad teeth, too? And what's the deaaaaaal with blood sausage?"

Though the text makes it obvious that the author thinks her writing is clever, it's not. What's intended to be a wry description of life and culture in England comes across as a petulant whine interspersed with eye-rolling cliches. It read more like my stodgy grandfather recounting a trip to "Limeyland" (including "going American" on hotel staff--can just feel the fanny pack and flag shirt with that one) than any sort of introspective look into a different culture. I mean, sure, maybe there's a point to be made about the American fixation on blindingly white porcelain teeth versus the British ideal, but referencing Austin-fucking-Powers in 2008? Are you serious?

I liked the chapter on hedgehogs, but that's only because hedgehogs are that cute.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating Clarification: 2.5 Stars

Did contain some humorous observations, but most of of Lyall's anecdotes had too much of a New York Times elitist edge to satisfy my personal taste. Her style of humor came across as more condescending then balanced or friendly.

All-in-all, I prefer Bill Bryson's take on the Brits (Notes from a Small Island). He's an American living abroad who seems to be able to poke gentle fun of his adopted country while at the same time revealing how incredible and special he thinks it is.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible, absolutely horrible. Here's my Amazon review I wrote a couple of years ago.

My American Wife bought me this for Christmas, and I was quite looking forward to reading it. As other reviewers pointed out, the dust jacket implied funny, hilarious even, observations of the British in the style of Bill Bryson. It could not have been further from the truth, or more disappointing. As a Brit I've enjoyed Bryson's witty observations and commentary on life in Britain, sometimes complimentary, sometimes not. Lyall's book however is merely a mean spirited rant on the usual stereo types by a loud, ugly American (The irony of calling her a loud, ugly American whilst complaining about her stereo typing is not lost on me).

It was a struggle to get through paragraph after paragraph, chapter after chapter of negative, condescending, ridiculing, and in some cases plain spiteful commentary on the British and their way of life. In every chapter you wait for the insightful, or at least funny, section and in each chapter you're left wondering if its worth continuing on.

She appears to believe that the entire country are Eton educated, homosexual or at least should be, sad repressed little people who still have not recovered from WWII. Her rants on snobbery, the dying out breed of aristocrats, and how ingrained it is to the English would be much more relevant if she wasn't constantly name dropping and banging on about how well connected her family is.

There are a few small sections of the book that are mildly entertaining, the Hedgehog cull/rescue in the Hebrides is probably the hi-light of the book. The absurdity of the House of Lords, although again the personal mean spiritedness of her writing detracts from the humorousness of her subject matter. The low spots are sections ridiculing the WWII, and post WWII, generations, an entire chapter on the British and their teeth, and the constant belittling of everything British in comparison to everything American (the press, the food, the service, the weather, the houses, and obviously the people, even the damned saran wrap).

Save the $15, buy Bryson or another talented witty author, and leave this 'Gossip Column' publication on the shelf where it should remain.

[Rufusgermanicus Meelberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent book, I read it in the space of a day, and wished I hadn't finished so quickly. It's a great look into modern British life, the aspects of which can be bizarre. Particularly brilliant are the chapters dealing with the nobility, the government, and the rather dubious "press". One of my favorite (or should it be favourite?) quotes: "Oops," said one noble giving me a tour of his home,"This window has unfortunately fallen out onto the lawn."

[Elaine Ruth Boe]

If I didn't have a stack of books on the UK taller than me calling my name, I would have stuck with this book longer. But since I do have a stack of books on the UK taller than me calling my name, I'm setting this one aside at page 76. Lyall's introduction seemed promising, as it gave a brief report of her time in England, but her first chapter quickly escalated into generalizations about the British condition. Apparently, all Englishmen are slightly gay, prone to cross-dressing, and inherently sexist and afraid of intimacy with females. I haven't known enough Englishmen to counter her argument, but I find it hard to believe that such a sweeping assessment could apply to such a diverse country. That's Lyall's problem: she takes a few examples from her personal experience--say the time she went home with a sexually-inept Englishman and found out that he courted a man the next night--and spins this as proof of the overarching male situation. I thought the book might get better, but I soon realized that Lyall obviously still feels that American ways of doing things are better than British ways. This isn't an unbiased book, which could be excused if she'd been more candid about that in her introduction. But, when you call your book a "Field Guide" to a nation's people, you are suggesting a level of objectivity that Lyall lacks. I might pick this up again if I have time before my travels, but I'm finding it unlikely as I begin other travel memoirs that are much richer in their portrayals of the British.

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

A high-handed critique of English classism, sexism, homophobia, the House of Lords, hedgehogs, bad food... also their love of alcohol and self-denigration.

It all came off as critical and of all things, condescending... maybe even derisive? The author lacks any degree of affection for her topic. There are lots of snobby anecdotes about the author hanging out with her friends in the British aristocracy. This all would have been fine and good if there was humor... even biting humor. But not really any laugh-out-loud moments in this book. This is the land that gave birth to Monty Python, for God's sake!

The author's obviously a talented writer, but in addition to lacking humor, this field guide lacks heart. She's someone that might hobnob at a cricket match with lords and ladies, but you'd probably never catch her in an English pub hefting a pint with the locals - and you probably wouldn't want to spend much time with her yourself.

The author mentions Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island. Maybe I'll prefer that instead.

[Florin Pitea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it. Loved it to pieces. Recommended.

[Genevieve · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am in similar shoes as the author (an American married to an Englishman) and suspected there might be similar opinions/experiences that came with a cross-cultural relationship. I suspect I was hoping for something more along the lines of Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island". (which everyone should read) I found the Lyall's book rather limited. It came across as rather London-centric (which makes some sense as she does live there) and she seems rather focused on a rather narrow percentage of the population. (namely those who are higher up the socio-economic ladder) She is missing out on much of England and its culture, which is always ripe for commentary because of the idiosyncrasies of the culture.

At times the author seemed condescending, ignorant of the broader context of a historical/cultural situation, (and even if it was done in the name of satire, the satire was being ruined because of it) and awfully fond of certain stereotypes without actually adding new material/insight to well-worn subjects.

I sort of want to suggest to her that she get out of her small social circle and meet more of the people. Or at least people who aren't public-school educated functioning alcoholics.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyall is an American journalist who moved to London for love during the 1990s. She is married to an English editor and author and is raising two daughters in England. As a reporter for the New York Times, Lyall contrasts her American self with the more reserved and repressed English men and women around her. A very humorous look at or "field guide to the British" as she puts it. I found that several of my English friends quite fit the bill of the national character she describes. A delightful read.

[Danika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually found this book VERY funny. Not terribly unique, but if you're at all interested in British culture, you'll enjoy it. Loved the chapter on bad British teeth. Here's a crazy statistic: in 1979 TWENTY EIGHT PERCENT of all Britons had NO TEETH! Yikes! Also, she examines, British relationship with alcohol, weather and 'the stiff upper lip'. A bit slow going, but overall very enjoyable.

[Kirsti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essays about what it's like to be an upper-middle-class American married to an upper-class Briton. The personal anecdotes are tiresome, but her reporting is interesting. Includes chapters about eccentricity, false modesty, sexism, freezing cold beach holidays, alcoholism, hooligans, and dentistry.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note that while this book claims to be a "field guide to the British", it's mostly about the English, and, I suspect, largely about middle and upper class types from the South of England at that. I suppose that's okay - that is what most Americans think of when they think of the English, and really exhaustively cataloguing the British would require a much longer book.

I think that any American who is already interested in British culture will find this book a mix of genuinely interesting observations and somewhat cliched ramblings about familiar topics like the incomprehensibility of cricket and unpronounceable aristocratic names. The early chapter on sex education in British schools is positively hair-raising, as is the chapter on British dentistry. (I expected that last to fall into the cliche category, but it was just too genuinely horrifying.) I got many laughs out of the section on the British talent for self-deprecating humor, and the chapters on parliament managed to clear up a few things that have long seemed puzzling to me.

I suppose I'd take the book with a bit of a grain of salt - it's Lyall's very personal take on a particular slice of British society that she's spent a decade living in, and she describes it nicely, but I wouldn't take this book as the final word on the British character.

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got this audiobook on CD for my drive up north on vacation. I was so excited about the topic, I started listening to it early...

I saw that the author was a writer for The New York Times and had a recommendation from Malcolm Gladwell (uber-liberal red flags) but I still started it with a tremendous amount of hope and enthusiasm. I studied abroad at Oxford in college and have a deep abiding love for the British.

In the second or third section, the author dives immediately into the sexual orientation, sex education and sexual experiences of the British. I had to keep skipping sections as she talked about sex at great length. The bits I heard were her telling horror stories of individual's first sexual exposures complete with graphic language. She also seemed to mock and snear at the British for being reserved and different. It felt a bit mean-spirited. In the end, I skipped almost the entire first CD in an attempt to avoid the sexual content!

It pained me because I love hearing about the British, but after skipping almost the entire first CD of this audiobook, I packed it up and tried a different book.

[Cassie Graham · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worse the THAT episode of Friends.
I think it was very politely British of me that I got all the way to chapter 12 before I found myself ‘retaliating’ in my mind with mean thoughts about US chocolate and LAX airport.
For sure, it’s interesting to “see ourselve as others see us.” But there comes a point when being told endlessly "everything in your country is rubbish" becomes plain rude.
Yes, Brits are masters and mistresses of self-deprecation. Yes, we cheerfully run down our own country and everything in it. Yes, we mistrust patriotism (outside Last Night of the Proms and sport).
But that doesn’t mean we are ok with others criticising us, as entertainment for overseas audiences to mock and feel superior to.
One chapter talks of how, on arrival here, she “was in for some unhappy experiences, on account of my foreign standards”
I’m sorry?
And I write ‘I’m sorry’ in the sense that British readers will understand!
The good thing about this book is that Oxfam got £2.99 from me buying it. And they will soon have it back on their shelves, to sell again.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most Americans like to think they know the British, but few actually do. When we hear of trips to ol' Blighty, inevitably, we think of plummy accents, educated conversation, stately music, tea, polite society, bad food, wonky teeth, and the Queen. Not to say there aren't elements of truth here, but it's almost as simple to encapsulate talk about trips to America (by which we imperially mean the US) into similarly neat categories like: ignorant philistines, country music, bad coffee, crass cowboys, super-size-me meals, perfect teeth, and pitiful Presidents.

And just as some enlightened Britons are surprised when these tidy classifications fail, there are those Americans who witness Britain first hand and realize any and all simple assumptions should be immediately thrown away (or, as they say it, binned).

Sarah Lyall, a Brooklyn-raised New York Times reporter, has lived in London now for quite some time. Having married a Brit, she willingly (or, was it reluctantly?) caved to her husband's request to live life amongst the ruins of the old empire, and, fortunately for us, she's documented some of the quirky delights and, eh ... uhm, challenges, let's say, she's met abroad.

And, with obvious pun intended, she begins with a bang, titling the first chapter, "Naughty Boys and Rumpy-Pumpy." She goes on to explain the British preference to use euphemisms for sex or sexual organs, born out of primitive sexual education and upbringing. Words like "willies" are used in place of penis, and "front to bottom" for vagina, "dangly bits" or "batteries" for testicles. "Not even serious people seem comfortable with using real words for real sex, known popularly as 'shagging,' 'bonking,' or 'having it off.' Private Eye magazine calls it 'discussing Ugandan affairs,' a reference to a woman journalist who, when caught in flagrante with a Ugandan politician, claimed they were just talking about Uganda." And, so it goes.

Story after story, hilarity ensues. From sex to politics to false modesty, Lyall leaves Britons utterly exposed.

The Anglo Files is a joy to read, and amongst the cats and dogs, she's truly found the best of the day.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lured on by the mendacious cover blurbs ("razor-sharp, wickedly insightful, hilarious" - oh, really, Graydon Carter?; "an exquisite, hilarious and devastating dissection of the British" - for shame, Malcolm Gladwell, you lie like a rug!), I was actually suckered into paying full price for this bowl of insipid gruel. Come on, Ms Lyall, if the reader is promised a merciless takedown of the Brits, you have an obligation to deliver - Lord knows there's plenty of material to choose from. Modest hand-wringing about the state of British dentition just doesn't qualify as "wicked", "devastating", or remotely interesting.

On the evidence, Sarah Lyall seems like a fine, upstanding, perfectly nice New York Times correspondent who happened to marry an Englishman. But when I buy a book like this, I'm not looking for nice - I want someone who is willing to take the gloves off and get down and dirty. Some fresh insights beyond dismayed twittering about odd English dietary preferences and their predilection for living in cold, drafty hovels would help as well. But Sarah's much too nice a young lady to provide the malice that might have spiced up this flavorless olla podrida. Her accounts of topics like U and non-U terminology, the eccentric denizens of the House of Lords, and the unique potential for boredom that cricket affords are just a tepid rehash of cliches that others have presented with infinitely more panache.

A genuinely hilarious essay about the 2003 hedgehog wars of North Uist and a reasonably funny account of the British stag party menace that terrorizes continental Europe, from Torremolinos to Prague and beyond, save this from being a total wipeout.

It is, nonetheless, a bland and unengaging disappointment. Maybe she didn't want to risk offending the in-laws.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

As many have already figured out, I’m a bit of a anglophile – what with my interest in British naval fiction set during the Napoleonic Wars, Shakespearean drama (this an older interest carrying over from my late teens and early twenties), Tudor and Elizabethan court intrigue, a good swathe of nineteenth-century British fiction (yes, I like Austen), as well as twentieth-century British fantasy and (this of late) science-fiction. I’ve also been to the great city of London on no less than four occasions, and even plan to end up there this summer. So it was with little hesitation that I curled up with Lyall’s witty and insightful “field guide.”

A born and bred American, who now calls the UK her home as she married a native Brit, Lyall uses her fine reportorial eye – being a NY Times reporter, naturally – to get underneath many of the quirky absurdities of life in the UK (like the improbably long and drawn-out cricket games that make an eleventh-inning stretch in American baseball seem like a cake walk), their various peculiar obsessions (like advocating for the health and welfare of distressed hedgehogs), as well as the odd tendency towards manly homoeroticism on behalf of its heterosexual male population (which explains a lot about those wacky Monty Python guys).

America may have lot a great journalist the moment Lyall decided to shack up in the UK. But as long as she continues to send her witty missives back here to the States, I’ll be pleased as punch.

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being an Anglophile, this one was written for me. I have an insane desire to keep returning to England and I thought maybe the reasons why would be revealed in this book. Well, the short answer would be a definitive no. I HIGHLY doubt, even with all of my quirks and idiosyncrasies, that bad teeth and a high propensity to perversion would be reasons I keep running across the Atlantic. But, to say the least, I was entertained by this one. Maybe I didn't get any deep insight into why I keep heading to the UK, but I did tickle my funny bone quite a bit with some of the English antidotes by American ex-pat Lyall. A MUST for anyone who loves all things British (or even likes them a lot).

[Tsundoku · Rating 1 out of 5]

This writer must have never ventured out of the upper class bubble in which she clearly spent all of her time in the UK. So many of her observations are nothing but statements of sickening snobbery by a rich woman scorning others with far less privilege than she enjoyed. Even though I read this book when it was first published in 2008, certain passages often come back to enrage and annoy my mind, even in 2017. A very cruel, smug and patronizing look at Britain.

[Zabby · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is full of cliches. I seriously doubt the author spent any time outside of London or the Home Counties, and certainly did not have any contact with the real England. Unoriginal, trite, and somewhat insulting. I doubt the author put one original thought or one original observation into this book. Don't waste your time or your money.

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book, but found it mildly patronizing and a little dull. I am a Brit living in the USA and so hoped for an American perspective on life in my homeland. It seemed as though the only people she met were upper class old foggies or unsavory politicians. I am afraid I gave up on the book around 70 pages in.

[Bridget]

Didn't finish. This is a mean-spirited and ill-informed look at the British. I recommend Bill Bryson instead.

[Rachael M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Generally speaking it’s a load of rubbish. A few moments of humour and legit points, but really, I’d rather go stand in the rain.

[Ray Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a critical, tongue in cheek look at contemporary British culture. Lyall is an American journalist who has lived in Britain for more than 20 years. She points to the usual stereotypes and attempts, rather unscientifically, to rationalize, justify and explain why they are true. Lyall covers bad teeth, bad weather, sexual dysfunction, the House of Lords debating the existence of UFOs, bad public healthcare, bad public schools, intense class division, economic stagnation, hedgehogs and cricket. While the book isn't laugh out loud funny, it is amusing so long as you are not offended by it or take it too seriously.

My grandparents were immigrants and my father, an only child, is very English in his character. Though his teeth and health are fine, even at 80, I know I inherited many attitudes and ideas that are British. So, while my wife and children look on in confusion as I find Monty Python brilliant, eat anything put in front of me and take bad weather in stride, I know I inherited these qualities from my British father. So, it's fun to read another Americans send up of the good people of our little island.

Again, this is a memoir, a series of stories and reflections on the author's personal experience. While she sights some statistics and no doubt emphasizes the bit of truth in many comic aspects of British society, I know that any 2,000 year old community of several million people are bound to have their issues. Immensely readable, fun, funny, though clearly a send up. I almost didn't make it through the first chapter explaining the homosexuality of most British men quoting P. G. Wodehouse and other expert sources (this is sarcasm). However, I am glad I did. I wanted a light read as a break from a series of heavier non-fiction historical studies of British monarchs. The "Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the British", was exactly what was called for. Did I mention you shouldn't take this too seriously?

[Corinne Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah is an American, but she lives in Britain. She is also married to a Briton, and has worked as a journalist in Britain for several years, so she's in a pretty position to write a book on what it is that makes the people living on that small island so unique. I was intrigued by the idea of this book after hearing the author interviewed on NPR and I was not disappointed. I think what is most fascinating to me is that you'd think Americans and Britons would be so much more alike than we are, based on that common history and everything. From the beginning, Lyall does a great job of getting at the heart of what makes the average Briton tick and how that's different, in general, from what makes us tick :)

She discusses boarding school, the craziness of the government, the weather, socioeconomic class structures, the tabloid newspapers and fast food restaurants. Don't know anything about cricket? She doesn't really either, but she'll let you in on what everyone else says. There is a fascinating chapter all about dental care and the sad reality behind the stereotype. She's also got a chapter all about the sexual repression/fervor that exists under the surface (may be a bit much for some readers).

What I appreciated, beyond the witty tone and excellently balanced factual/anecdotal information, is that you can tell she likes her adopted home. She sees a lot that is good and helps us as non-British readers understand why sometimes things seem a little off to us. I certainly gained a greater appreciation for that stiff-upper-lip mentality - even if I'll probably always prefer turning on my heat rather than sitting in the cold.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Lyall is a very talented writer. I chuckled out loud multiple times per chapter. Granted, she has good material, much of which did the work for her. An American living in London and married to a Brit, she keenly observes the quirks of the British character and British culture. So we learn about boarding schools that terrorize their otherwise privileged students; the hilarious House of Commons, in which, supposedly, it doesn't matter if you're drunk, as long as you show up; British journalism, which is both avidly consumed and deeply scorned and distrusted; and the curious British love for hedgehogs and other animals (apparently British people donate more money to homes for old and wounded donkeys than to organizations for poor, sick, and disabled people.) Lyall has great comic timing and a light touch, although by the end some of her lines fall flat or start to seem canned. Also, I have no idea how accurate her characterizations are--obviously she makes a lot of generalizations-- and I'm not sure how I'd feel if I were British. In a way the book is sustained mockery, but it's clear that underneath her skepticism and bemusement she respects her new countrymen. I think. Anyway, I came away thinking they are cool, and extremely entertaining.

[Silvio111 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, literate, funny commentary about the Natives (British society) from an American who is married to one. Maybe it is Lyall's generation (I think she is in her 30s, which means she was born around 1980-something. This means she did not live through a lot of the stuff she is lampooning, and so she is unconstrained, yet she has observed this older generation of people, so like an anthropologist (or perhaps like an ornithologist...) she has seen a lot.

Being a person who grew up in the Beatles era, and having compulsively inhaled any scrap of British culture I could find since 1963, I was thoroughly entertained and fascinated by her comments about the behaviors of the Britsh in matters of thrift, food, weather, and of course, their royalty.

A postscript: I was reading an interview with Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) in the New York Times recently and his self-deprecating statements continually minimizing his importance/talent/good looks/personality were so perfectly congruent with Sarah Lyall's assessment of the British tendency to avoid drawing attention to themselves that I just had to laugh.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/mag...

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still listening to this on audio and have mixed feelings about it. Since I am British by birth and education, but a resident and citizen of Canada for most of my adult life, I am both horrified and a little upset at Sarah Lyall's account of the Brits and their behaviour. I suppose the British part of me feels that while it is OK for me to moan about what has befallen my country of origin, I don't like when an American is so critical. On other hand, I often feel despondent when I hear of what is happening over there, from press reports and letters and emails from family and friends, so I do know that much of what she says is true :-(
I do feel that she could be more even-handed, there is after all much to admire about the Brits, and her account as far as I have read it, seems rather biased. However, her style of writing is engaging and I have laughed out loud in places and I am sufficiently entertained to want to continue. I'd very much like to know what others think of the book.