How England Made the English: From Hedgerows to Heathrow
Author(s): Harry Mount
For all their sophistication, Roman roads are responsible for the narrowness of our train seats today. The first Victorian trains were built to the same width as horse-drawn wagons; they, in turn, were designed to fit the ruts left in the road by Roman chariots. In this fascinating and witty book, Harry Mount explains how our national characteristics - our sense of humour, our hobbies, our favourite foods and our behaviour with the opposite sex - are all defined by our nation's extraordinary geography, geology, climate and weather. You will learn how we would be as freezing cold as Siberia without the Gulf Stream; why we drive on the left-hand side of the road; why the Midlands became the home of the British curry. It identifies the materials that make England, too: the faint pink Aberdeen granite of kerbstones; that precise English mix of air temperature, smell and light that hits you the moment you touch down at Heathrow.
Product Information
General Fields
- :
- : Penguin Books Ltd
- : Viking
- : 0.54
- : 01 March 2012
- : 222mm X 144mm X 34mm
- : United Kingdom
- : 01 July 2012
- : books
Special Fields
- : 368
- : 812
- : Hardback
- : Harry Mount