The story of the way Britain has been settled and influenced by foreign people and ideas is as old as the land itself. In this text Robert Winder tells of the remarkable migrations that have founded and defined a nation. Originally published: London: Little, Brown, 2004.
Prisoners of Geography meets The World is Flat in a groundbreaking new study.
In this fascinating and thrilling novel, Robert Winder brilliantly imagines the writing of Shakespeare's missing royal play, Henry VII, and creates a suspenseful page-turner as well as a literary tour de force
The family: no relationship is more important, more powerful, or more enduring. Or potentially more destructive. Since the early 1980s, Granta has published fiction, memoir, biography, and reportage inspired by the most important institution in our lives. The best, and at times the most disturbing, pieces are collected here, including “Where He Was: Memories of My Father” by Raymond Carver; “Memoirs of a Bootlegger’s Son” by Saul Bellow; “Sugar Daddy” by Angela Carter; “Ramadan” by Mona Simpson; “Impertinent Daughters” by Doris Lessing; “Family Album” by Mikal Gilmore; “The Names of Women” by Louise Erdrich; and “The Up Escalator” by Bret Easton Ellis.
Set against the backdrop of depression-era politics, 1934 was an annus mirabilis for English sport. Within just a few days of each other, Hedley Verity, Henry Cotton and Fred Perry all triumphed in their field. To a sporting audience still groaning through the quagmire left by the Great Depression, greedy for inspiring distractions, these heroic efforts made for a heady spectacle. England's Ashes Test victory at Lord's (later known as Verity's match) saw Australia seeking revenge after the Bodyline series of 1932-33, but Verity bowled England to a famous innings victory, taking 15 wickets - 14 in one day! That same day, Cotton set out on the first qualifying round of the British Open. He went on to set a new Open record with a game so sparkling the Daily Express called it the best round of golf ever played. And within a fortnight, Perry had beaten Australia's Jack Crawford in the Wimbledon final. England had an extraordinary national hat-trick. Together, these three contests and these three singular life stories weave a vivid portrait of an England that has faded from view. Half-Time celebrates a time of intense and rapid social and cultural change, a time that was both the last hurrah of the ancien regime and the stirring of something new. And moving through it, famous actors on a grand stage, are three very English heroes.
What sort of a place is England? And who are the English? As the United Kingdom turns away from its European neighbours, and begins to look increasingly disunited at home, it is becoming necessary to ask what England has that is singular and its own.