Icons of England

by Bill Bryson

Paperback, 2010

Status

Available

Call number

942.009734

Genres

Collection

Your library

Publication

Black Swan (2010), Edition: 1st, Paperback, 368 pages

Description

This celebration of the English countryside does not only focus on the rolling green landscapes and magnificent monuments that set England apart from the rest of the world. Many of the contributors bring their own special touch, presenting a refreshingly eclectic variety of personal icons, from pub signs to seaside piers, from cattle grids to canal boats, and from village cricket to nimbies. First published as a lavish colour coffee table book, this new expanded paperback edition has double the original number of contributions from many celebrities including Bill Bryson, Michael Palin, Eric Clapton, Bryan Ferry, Sebastian Faulks, Kate Adie, Kevin Spacey, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, Richard Mabey, Simon Jenkins, John Sergeant, Benjamin Zephaniah, Joan Bakewell, Antony Beevor, Libby Purves, Jonathan Dimbleby, and many more: and a new preface by HRH Prince Charles.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member petterw

The idea behind this collection is brilliant: ask famous and not-so-famous writers. scientists, community leaders, politicians and musicians to pick an icon of the English countryside that is especially dear to their heart and write a tiny piece about it. Some surprising and extraordinary pieces

come out if the exercise - but also some rather uninteresting ones. It it nevertheless an entertaining and emotive collection, one that makes us who loves England and its countryside love England even more. A bit more variation wouldn't have hurt, though, although I now know much more about Rutland, viaducts, trees, canals, cider and moorland than I did before reading this book.

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LibraryThing member janglen

As others have noted , this collection is very variable - some essays are entertaining and evocative, others are of minor interest only.

LibraryThing member Harrod

Easy to read. Short essays of personal recollections and insights.

LibraryThing member Fliss88

I enjoyed this collection of essays and it was a very varied selection. I was expecting to read about the usual land marks and attractions that everyone always associates with England, but here were stories about the weather, cattle grids, the mist, cherries, summer fetes and a lovely one about an

old viaduct. The book was edited by Bill Bryson and all the pieces are amazingly short and quick to read while still being full of wonderful descriptive text.

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