Named a Book of the Year by the Daily Telegraph, Times Literary Supplement, The Times, Spectator, and The Economist The English first materialized as an idea, b

THE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER Geography comes before history. Islands cannot have the same history as continental plains. The United Kingdom is a European

The heroes and villains, triumphs and disasters of English history are instantly familiar -- from the Norman Conquest to Henry VIII, Queen Victoria to the two W

By looking at England's cathedral towns, Regency spas and industrial cities, and at their market squares, docks, council chambers and assembly rooms, the author