Englishness Quotes

“There is no understanding Englishness without understanding its imperial and colonial dimensions.”
― Stuart Hall

“Suddenly, she employed those very English weapons: devious good manners and a rapid change of subject.”
― Patricia Duncker, Miss Webster and Chérif

“Wars, wars, wars': reading up on the region I came across one moment when quintessential Englishness had in fact intersected with this darkling plain. In 1906 Winston Churchill, then the minister responsible for British colonies, had been honored by an invitation from Kaiser Wilhelm II to attend the annual maneuvers of the Imperial German Army, held at Breslau. The Kaiser was 'resplendent in the uniform of the White Silesian Cuirassiers' and his massed and regimented infantry...

reminded one more of great Atlantic rollers than human formations. Clouds of cavalry, avalanches of field-guns and—at that time a novelty—squadrons of motor-cars (private and military) completed the array. For five hours the immense defilade continued. Yet this was only a twentieth of the armed strength of the regular German Army before mobilization.

Strange to find Winston Churchill and Sylvia Plath both choosing the word 'roller,' in both its juggernaut and wavelike declensions, for that scene.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Hitch 22: A Memoir

“Haydon was more than his model, he was his inspiration, the torch-bearer of a certain kind of English calling which - for the very reason that it was vague and understated and elusive - had made sense of Guillam's life till now.”
― John le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“It often horrified the English community that she spent her time with local farmers and horse traders, eccentrics and mystics, but she valued expertise over convention and had long believed if you were going to make discoveries in the world you must first quit your Englishness and open your eyes.”
― Sara Sheridan, On Starlit Seas

“Englishness" as an identity is still regarded as exclusive. Englishness is not an identity that many English people regard as open to immigrants.”
― Afua Hirsch, Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging

“He may become British; he can never become English.”
― George Mikes, How to Be a Brit

“Policija će, na kraju krajeva, ako do toga dođe, vjerovati njemu, pravom Englezu i uzornom građaninu plemićke krvi, a ne propalom pekaru i ružnom patuljku.”
― Mislav Gleich, Nikolay Vasilevsky

“I mean, who even are the English? The descendants of the Germanic tribes? We're a great hotchpotch really, aren't we? A mishmash of Celts, Anglo-Saxons, Danes, Normans, et cetera, et cetera, to a complicatedly hybrid ancestry, barely united for centuries, and our borders always shifting. We're not a pure, homogenous race sprung from English soil, are we? When people talk about Englishness, I often get a whiff of frowsty Victorian velvet," she mused, articulating more expansively with her hands as she warmed to her theme. "It makes me think of paintings of King Alfred, Ivanhoe and Tennyson, people putting on dressing-up clothes to do archery, and William Morris tapestries. Perhaps Englishness is less about geography and historical dates and more about symbols and emotions? There are lots of tripwires and misty hollows between the lions and unicorns, aren't there? When you begin to think about what Englishness means--- and, by extension, English food--- it all starts to become rather precarious and complicated, doesn't it?”
― Caroline Scott, Good Taste

“Many resented how some expressions of Englishness were allowed, while others were not. It was acceptable to love the English countryside, English humour, English music and English Literature, and to see these aspects of Englishness as welcoming, humane, full of energy and creativity. But the moment Englishness took a political form it became anathema. Even mild forms of patriotism were frowned upon. The English flag was acceptable fluttering from a church tower in a picturesque village, but was instantly interpreted as a form of racism if hanging from someone's window on an estate.”
― Caroline Lucas, Another England: How to Reclaim Our National Story

“What makes those with perceived 'English' identities different from others in the UK? One answer is that, unlike Wales, Northern ireland and Scotland, with their devolved legislatures, separate languages and tangible and distinct culture, England's identity as distinct from the rest of the UK is less secure.”
― Afua Hirsch, Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging

“Ah, you English - you do take your pleasures sadly.

- The Man from Montparnasse”
― James Stern, Penguin Parade: 1