In 1995, before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire to move back to the States for a few years with his family, Bill Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had long been his home.
His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite; a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy; place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowells; people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and ‘Ooh lovely’ at the sight of a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits; and Gardeners' Question Time. "Notes from a Small Island" was a huge bestseller when it was first published, to become the nation's most loved book about Britain, and selling well over two million copies.
And he followed up on his "Notes from a Small Island" with "The Road to Little Dribbling - More Notes from a Small Island" which you can read online here. What a wonderful and gentle celebration of Britishness!
