Never overstep the markModeration—a treasured ideal—means a lot to the English. Their respect for it is reflected in their shared dislike of any person who "goes too far."Irrational rationalityThe English can admire something without enjoying it, or enjoy something they suspect is fundamentally reprehensible. You can never be sure which stance they are going to take—the reassuringly reasonable, or the wildly irrational.

Hugh Dennis' hilarious and insightful exploration of the changing image of Britain and Britishness will enthral those who love Outnumbered, The Now Show, Mock the Week and quintessentially British humour.'Utterly readable and laugh-out-loud funny' - Stephen FryHugh Dennis has secretly been worrying about what being "British" meant for nearly a decade, ever since his friend Ardal O'Hanlon had told him in passing that he was the most British person h...

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain, Quentin Letts, comes his blistering new book on how Britain's out-of-touch, illiberal elite fills its boots.'HILARIOUS' Daily Mail'With its vicious takedowns, Quentin Letts' laugh-out-loud Patronising Bastards will have the lefty-elite running scared' The SunNot since Marie Antoinette said 'Let...

In an age of colourless bureaucrats, Nigel Farage is a politician who is impossible to ignore, provoking controversy and admiration in equal measure. A fun-loving iconoclast whose motto is work hard and play harderA", Farage's charismatic leadership and determination to battle the forces of anti-libertarianism have made him a Robin Hood figure to many, and propelled his party, UKIP, into a position of real power in the country. Never one for a quiet life, this paperback edition includes th...

The British on holiday: how can four simple words evoke so many vivid images, images of raw sunburn and relentless rain, of John Bull's Pub (in Lanzarote) and Antonio's Tapas Bar (in Torquay), of endless queues to get through security at Manchester Airport, or Gatwick, or Glasgow, or Luton, and endless tailbacks on the M5, or M6, or M25, but also images of carefree sploshing in Portuguese swimming-pools and lazy lunches in the Provencal sun?In this funny, acutely observed and engag...

Foreigner Adrian Gill (a Scot) goes in search of the essence of England and the EnglishThe English are naturally, congenitally, collectively and singularly, livid much of the time. In between the incoherent bellowing of the terraces and the pursed, rigid eye-rolling of the commuter carriage, they reach the end of their tethers and the thin end of their wedges. They're incensed, incandescent, splenetic, prickly, touchy and fractious. They sit apart on their half of ...

‘Harry Wallop is one of the sharpest and funniest journalists writing in Britain today. He has an instinct for the killer detail that truly brings a story to life.' – Jay RaynerThis is the story of how we became defined by what we consume.Discover what the thickness of froth on your morning coffee or where you buy your jeans really says about you, and the role of retailers and big business in this new class system.In this revealing account, award-winning journalist ...

Think of England, and anger hardly springs to mind as its primary national characteristic. Yet in The Angry Island, A. A. Gill argues that, in fact, it is plain old fury that is the wellspring for England's accomplishments.The default setting of England is anger. The English are naturally, congenitally, collectively and singularly livid much of the time. They're incensed, incandescent, splenetic, prickly, touchy, and fractious. They can be mildly annoyed, ...

'Witty, compelling and never mawkish' Observer'Written with a sure touch . . . Adie has a natural understanding of what it is like to be unsure of your origins' Sunday Telegraph'A cracker of a subject . . . (Adie) writes with an engaging, forthright immediacy' New Statesman* * * * * *Bestselling author and BBC reporter Kate Adie writes vividly, inspiringly ...

This is the hidden history of an invention that we use every day but seldom dare to speak of. In medieval China it was cutting-edge technology. For 19th-century Americans it was a newfangled alternative to dried corncobs and the Sears & Roebuck catalogue. Wits in Georgian London preferred pages of bad poetry. The sages of ancient Athens were content to wield the xylospongion instead. It's the tale of toilet paper; the biography of bumfodder.From its origins at the Imperial court of...

Meet The Pope's Children, the beneficiaries of Wonderbra Economics.This is the special generation, the Irish baby boom of the 1970s that peaked nine months to the day after the Pope's visit. There are 620,000 of them, squeezed into the middle and lifted up by the Expectocracy. Ireland is blurring. Out of this haze has come the Full-on Nation, the most hedonisitic generation ever.David McWilliams' brilliant research and analysis of Ireland is a celebration o...

Do you remember playing in streets free of traffic? Dancing to the Beatles? Watching a man land on the Moon on TV? Waking up to ice on the inside of the windows? If the answer is yes, then the chances are that you were a child in the 1960s.This delightful compendium of memories will appeal to all who grew up in the East End during the Swinging Sixties. With chapters on games and hobbies, school and holidays, this wonderful volume is sure to jog memories for all who...