Mustn't Grumble: In Search of England and the English

Fifteen years ago, Joe Bennett left England for a holiday, but now it's time to come back. But how is the England of his memory different from the England of the motorway? Identikit High Streets, imported cheeriness, and chicken tikka poker machine pubs—things aren't what they used to be. The longer Joe travels, the more he wonders whether things were ever what they used to be in England. Even a century ago, H. V. Morton, the nation's most celebrated eulogiser, was In Search of England. Crisscrossing the country by varying means of transport and with varying degrees of enthusiasm, Joe Bennett delivers a dazzlingly funny and poignant portrait of his homeland—part love letter, part eulogy and part diatribe, it is a wonderful memoir that establishes Bennett as one of the most engaging travel writers.