Table of Contents

The land of the lost content; funny foreigners; the English empire; "true born Eglishmen; we happy few; the parish of senses; home alone; there always was an England; the ideal englishman; meet the wife; old country, new country;

Promotional Information

Jeremy Paxman is the main anchor for "Newsnight" and chairman of "University Challenge".

About the Author

Jeremy Paxman was born in Yorkshire and now lives in London and Oxfordshire. He is the main anchor man for Newsnight, chairman of University Challenge and frequent reviewer.

Reviews

As the last of the United Kingdom's protectoratesÄScotland, Wales, IrelandÄare wiggling free from their imperial mother, a question poses itself: What does it mean to be English these days? That's what journalist and TV quiz master Paxman (Friends in High Places: Who Runs Britain?) wonders in this study of British identity. A humorous, ironic, nostalgic, skeptical, dilettantish, mildly eccentric, self-deprecating and proud account (like its subject), the book surveys the various aspects of stereotypical English identity one by oneÄin realms ranging from sex to food. Although he occasionally gives too much credence to flimsy stereotypes and is unnecessarily harsh on the subject of the cult of the English countryside, on the whole, Paxman offers an intriguing investigation. His sociohistorical survey rambles through characteristic attitudes toward foreigners, the weather, religion, the home, sport, language and the countrysideÄsometimes fondly, sometimes iconoclastically. He finds evidence of the English spirit (if not the English identity, which he considers to be historically underdeveloped) everywhere: in the National Trust's successful efforts at historic preservation, the classically British propensity toward certain S&M practices and the offices of the Oxford English Dictionary. Based on book research, personal observation and Paxman's interviews with Brits including John Cleese and the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, this odd collection of theoretical musings, historical tidbits and quirky observations should serve as both a corrective and a comfort for AnglophilesÄin Britain and elsewhere. (July) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.