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The English

A Portrait of a People

By Jeremy Paxman

(30)

| Paperback | 9781585671762

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Book Description

"Modest, individualistic, ironic, [Paxman's] book has all the virtues he attributes to the English themselves." (Evelyn Toynton, The New York Times)

Not so long ago, everybody knew who the English were. They were "polite, unexcitable, reserved, and had hot water bottles instead of a Continue

"Modest, individualistic, ironic, [Paxman's] book has all the virtues he attributes to the English themselves." (Evelyn Toynton, The New York Times)

Not so long ago, everybody knew who the English were. They were "polite, unexcitable, reserved, and had hot water bottles instead of a sex life." As the dominant culture in a country that dominated an empire that dominated the world, they had little need to examine themselves and ask who they were. But now things are different, and no one is sure just what it means to be English.

Jeremy Paxman explores English attitudes to the countryside, intellectuals, food, Catholicism, and the French, and brings together insights from novelists, historians, and gentleman farmers. Witty, surprising and incisive, The English traces the invention of Englishness to its current crisis and concludes that, for all their characteristic gloom about themselves, the English may have developed a form of nationalism for the 21st century.

3 Reviews

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  • 2 people find this helpful

    The book I read when I moved to UK in 2004.
    It indeed helped me to understand the awkward ENGLISH-ness. The difference between the expressions British and English was the most impressive discovery I had from this book. Jeremy Paxman's writing sounds exactly the same as his Newsnight talk.

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    makiko oiallum said on Jul 18, 2007 | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    History and search of the English identity

    Paxman tries to give a historical explanation of the traits that define - or used to define - the English identity. It gives us foreigners little hints on English vs British, it's more aimed at domestic audience. England's national identity was a popular issue back in late 1990s, with the devolution ... (continue)

    Paxman tries to give a historical explanation of the traits that define - or used to define - the English identity. It gives us foreigners little hints on English vs British, it's more aimed at domestic audience. England's national identity was a popular issue back in late 1990s, with the devolution at home giving Scotland and Northern Ireland their own parliament and the upcoming Euro abroad threatening to overshadow the pound's influence and value.

    Interesting read, but I found Kate Fox's "Watching the English" much more helpful for us outsiders.
    http://www.anobii.com/books/Watching_the_English/978034…

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    ary29 said on Aug 21, 2009 | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    'Them' or 'Us'?

    Whilst I enjoyed the book, I'm not sure I saw myself in it all that much. Lots of good stuff on the British v the English thing, on class and the countryside, a nice essay on the weather and house-buying/apartment-renting, but you're left wondering if the PaxMan cares for the English all that much. ... (continue)

    Whilst I enjoyed the book, I'm not sure I saw myself in it all that much. Lots of good stuff on the British v the English thing, on class and the countryside, a nice essay on the weather and house-buying/apartment-renting, but you're left wondering if the PaxMan cares for the English all that much. He has little time for the country's detractors, those that think England's going to the dogs and that life was so much better in the good old days, before Europe, before immigration, before television etc etc, but as he notes himself the English, in his book, are them, not us. Not sure he wants to identify that closely with them. Not sure I do too.

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    Terry Madeley said on Jan 14, 2008 | Add your feedback

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