Whether Cameron is haplessly participating in a village cricket match, being shown around an exclusive golf course, or trying to watch a rugby match in the thick London fog, his affectionately bemused portrait of his new countrymen is a joy to read. I was reminded of Wodehouse's Psmith in the City, where the viewpoint character visits Wodehouse's old school (which is not the character's old school). Clean and firmly bound decorated cloth boards similar to a modern Wisden design, in a plain light brown slipcase with a little fading and a few marks. If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

With many sparkling comic moments, this book somehow manages to combine brilliant satire with warmth, even sentimentality. The independent-minded quarterly magazine that combines good looks, good writing and a personal approach. Ostensibly about a scotsman coming to London to observe the English in preparation for writing a book about them, it is actually a lovely selection of glimpses into a bygone lifestyle of ill prepared diplomats, country house weekends and sport in its various guises amongst other things. If the book has a fault, it's that it's very much about its own time (which is also a strength, if you're interested in getting an insight into that time), and a lot of the contemporary references have lost their resonance in almost a century.

Gentle, tongue-in-cheek humour about England and Englishness from the perspective of a Scot back in the 1920s. Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. Given that Winchester was founded in 1382, 70 or 80 years does count as recent in terms of its history. It's interesting as a time capsule of a period and place that no longer exists (and includes the racism and sexism from that time), but I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected.

It is particularly cherished by devotees of cricket for its famous description of the village cricket match. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. Ignoring the casual racism, ( it was written in 1933 ) there are over tones of Jerome K Jerome and P G Wodehouse. Finally, the Kindle edition I had had all manner of typos and odd grammar in the intro, which nearly put me off reading the whole thing. Mrs Woolf, wife of the manager, is a very celebrated author and, in her own way, more important than Galsworthy.

It’s an easy read, no central plot, a bit like a series of short stories in each location or scenario but where the central theme is a Scotsman trying to understand what makes the English so . To become a subscriber to Slightly Foxed: The Real Reader’s Quarterly Magazine, please visit our subscriptions page. I first came across the book in the 1950's, and still enjoyed the easy humour, and will probably read it again. The Hogarth Press where I’m working, is in the heart of the literary world, with authors coming in all the time.

There are chapters that focus on a single aspect of English life including The Dinner Party, The Cricket Match, The Golf Club, Parliament, Theatre, The Hunt, The Pub for example. The Welshman's theory is that they are a nation of poets (which is what many people would say about the Welsh); Donald thinks, at least at one point, that they don't have a national character, "they're all different".A lot of the time, he has no idea what is going on, what his English acquaintances are talking about, or why they are doing what they're doing, but he struggles on as best he can. The main misgiving is that this is generally just an asortment of set pieces between various bars, cricket pitches and periodicals, with Donald a fairly passive observer. Shakespeare Pollock sprang into the vortex with a last ear-splitting howl of victory and grabbed it off the seat of the wicket-keeper's trousers. It was revealing as a piece of history too, with potential MP's answering questions by thanking the questioner and saying nothing, demonstrating this is not a failing just of contemporary politicians. A bucolic work, hovering uneasily between sentimentalism and satire, it insists that the real England is that of the shires (and particularly country cricket).

England, Their England by Archibald Gordon Macdonell is included among The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read https://www. The book popped up in my GR recommendations because I recently read “Three Men in a Boat” and this indeed has a very similar type of humour. The description of the village green cricket match is a classic - I can't read the scene without laughing till my ribs hurt. Minor issues present such as mild cracking, inscriptions, inserts, light foxing, tanning and thumb marking.

It is regarded as one of the classics of English humour and is much-loved by readers for its evocation of England between the wars. OK - it pokes fun at the English from a Scottish point of view which ought to be edifying for those of us on this side of the pond.