The English

By Antony Miall and David Milsted

What makes the English ENGLISH: A guide to understanding the English that gets beyond the stiff upper lip and reveals their true spirit and character.

If you are English, even if you have conquered the Atlantic in a small boat, you are expected to say no more of your achievement than: 'I do a little sailing from time to time.'

Reviews

‘This book is wonderfully true. If anyone dares to disagree they must not know the English! I would strongly advise anyone visiting England to read this book first. It tells you all you need to know about us in a hilarious and true fashion. So, if you want to be in the know about us English then buy the book.’ Reviewer from UK
‘Essential reading. Working for a large international corporation, I have given a copy of this book to several senior managers – telling them that if they read it, they might start to understand us Brits!’ Reviewer from London
‘An excellent little book which gives a great insight into what makes the English and their culture tick. It explains the main areas of typical life in England with wit. The authors have a great sense of humour. Highly recommended to anyone about to move to the UK. It will help you to understand the subtleties of the English. Spot on!!!’
Reviewer from Germany
‘Amusing, witty and accurate. Loved this! I’ve read several books on English people before moving to England and this one was by far the best. It’s small and short read but all the most important facets are there. I totally enjoyed the humorous way the writers had of self mockery… and I found it helpful even after living in England for almost 2 years now.’ Review from ‘D M’
‘I found this guide really very amusing, probably because, being English myself, I know just how true it all is! I really appreciated the light and affectionate tone in which it was written, and it is always enjoyable to laugh at oneself… after all, we English are nothing if not self-deprecating, is that not so?’ Reviewed by Ryan S

If you would like to comment or submit a review on the Xenophobe’s Guide to the English please do so in the box to the right.

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Links to make you laugh

Only the English would go to such lengths to save an amphibian! Frog ladders have been devised to help these chaps escape certain death when stuck in a drain.

Friday the 13th – Click at your peril, what are you afraid of?

With the considerable success of British period dramas on televisions around the world, like Downton Abbey, there’s a renewed interest in English politeness. Here the Telegraph gives us a quick cheat on the meaning behind the manners.

About the author

In fact, there are two:

Antony Miall (RIP) was born in the Lake District but migrated south at nine months old and spent his childhood in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, where he had ample opportunity to observe the English at their most characteristic.

He spent his life safely in the south, within easy reach of France which suited him very well because he always felt he never quite qualified in Englishness. Among the subjects he was unable to get to grips with were discomfort and moderation. Nevertheless, held in thrall by his two cats, he was obliged to admit to giving way to the thoroughly English tradition of pet worship, fondly recalling a period when he worked in Public Relations and promoted water beds for sensitive dogs.

David Milsted, a typically mongrel Englishman (in his case, one-quarter Scots with trace elements of Viking), was born in the south and subsequently drifted northward, eventually spending 15 years on various Scottish islands before relocating, more or less accidentally, to Dorset, where he, his partner, his four sons and two stepsons constitute a 0.75% typical English family.

A former teacher, fireman and postman, he is now a full-time writer, researcher and editor who makes occasional forays into broadcasting, the theatre, and the strangely beautiful world of corporate malt whisky tasting. He has published four novels and a number of reference books, such as Brewer’s Anthology of England and the English and The Cassell Dictionary of Regrettable Quotations.