What have you read that dramatically enhanced your understanding of Britain? History, social commentary, fiction -- all can be greatly enlightening. I’m looking to compile various reading lists for Americans coming to England, and/or seeking a better understanding of British society. Travel writing, such as Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island are useful inclusions, but I don’t want to include travel guidebooks (such as Frommers, Fodor’s, etc.) per se.
I know that a number of people are enthusiastic about Kate Fox's Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour. It's a good place to start, as is Jeremy Paxman's The English: A Portrait of a People.
In terms of grasping the nuances of what is going on, I have found Ann Barr & Peter York’s The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook (published by Harpers & Queen) extraordinarily useful, as well as entertaining. Though it is nearly 25 year old, even the classified listings (for clothing, schools, household wares, gardening supplies, restaurants, etc.) remain spot on. And its gently mocking social observations on 'WRM' (what really matters) are timeless. It's a true touchstone. Xenophobe’s Guide to the English is also a brilliant little book (63 pages) that manages to succinctly touch on all manner of British behaviour and identity.
Tom Sharpe’s Porterhouse Blues is novel that elucidated a lot of the peculiar politics of British education; it was far more insightful than Bruce Feiler’s Looking for Class, his memoir of his year at Cambridge -- though that may be because we have been examining University from an administrative, rather than student, perspective. (Perhaps I’ll re-read Feiler this fall when I renew post-graduate study.)
In the non-fiction vein, I’ve been reading a lot of David Cannadine, and particularly recommend his essay “How We See Ourselves” within his book The Rise and Fall of Class in Britain. No less an authority than Peregrine Worthhorne calls it by far the best study of this slippery subject that he has ever read.
But this is all just one person’s opinion. I’m seeking a variety of views: What would you recommend reading to an American who wants to better understand Britain, and find his way within British society?
