Intro: With summer approaching we all have travel on the brain. But with Covid restrictions it is easy to travel through the pages. So we decided we would pick a single location in this case England and then say what is are favorite way (book) to travel there with. What is your favorite way to travel to England through the pages?
Katie: I am going to do something a little different and pick a nonfiction book, the River Cottage Cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. This book is part memoir, part small farm and garden how to manual, and part cookbook. I love reading through it and looking at the beautiful pictures and imagining life in a cozy English cottage and small farm. Fearnley-Whittingstall was a London resident who started renting River Cottage in Dorset for a place to get away over the weekends. Living life on the small farm grew to be a passion of his, and he moved there full time and started documenting his time there with a tv show and book series. He now has written over 20 books documenting life on the farm, with techniques and tips for growing, raising and cooking your own food. As someone trying to live this life of getting “back to the land” and raising and growing more of my own food, this book is awe inspiring. The amount of work Fearnley-Whittingstall has done and how much he has learned and shared is so impressive. The small farm life is not an easy one, but he does a wonderful job of breaking down information in a way that is informative, interesting and inspiring. For those of you on special diets, he also has cookbooks just about cooking vegetables, fruit, and gluten free breads as well. When I think of traveling through the pages in England, this book comes to mind and embodies where I would want to go and what I would want to experience while there.
Jessie:
Duckie: I don’t know why, but my first inclination was to pick a book that was technically set in England but most of the plot actually takes place elsewhere…Narnia. And while that is definitely armchair travel, I suppose I should play by the rules and pick a book that actually takes place in England. Therefore, I’ll choose The Royal We. I’m not much of a royal watcher, but this book was a lot of fun. It’s basically Kate Middleton fan fiction, if Kate were American. The book starts in Oxford but a large bulk of it takes place in London. You get a lot of contemporary London scenes and London nightlife…but also garden parties and antiquated aristocracy. Afternoon tea, Harrods, back doors to Buckingham Palace–it’s all there. It’s certainly not how everyone would get to experience England but it’s a very fun glimpse into British culture through the eyes of a young American. And doesn’t every girl dream of becoming a princess?
Kellie:
I had a hard time with this one. I love England very much. I have made it my home at two different times in my life and would still live there if I could have worked out a VISA to stay. So I travel there often through the page. One of my favorites is “Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman. In this book you have two Londons. The London everyone knows and the London below. Gaiman has a way of turning normal into extraordinary. The tube, rooftops, doorways. Mind the gap goes from a safety warning to the most sinister thing. For me London already seems magical so to have that added level woven in is just incredible. Any of Jane Austen’s works were a very close second.
Kathy:
Oh!! So many choices!! But I have to go with The Bridgerton Series or the Malory Series. Technically, these are both set in Historic England, but the scenery reigns throughout and, I believe, is mostly timeless. I love the places, from the beautiful estates to the dingiest prisons and orphanages, the classic venues, and most of all…London!! Having visited some of these sights personally, the descriptors that both authors give you offer a true glimpse into the history and pageantry that is London!! Sigh!! I think I’ll get back to my reading now…