THIS book is timely, if only because it makes irrelevant the whole discussion about tests for UK citizenship.
Instead of learning where to speak Scouse, Geordie and Cockney, and being instructed in the arcana of trial by jury in British courts, new applicants for citizenship should be given a copy of this book. By the time they have read it they will be familiar with the masters of the English language and with the curiosities that make up Englishness.
Like all anthologies the book has its quirks and quiddities but that is part of its charm. Matthew Arnold on Dover Beach is hardly Vera Lynn territory. It does not distinguish with any conviction between English and British; indeed David Starkey in one of the very earliest entries confounds the distinction by bracketing them together as if they were interchangeable. So if you're tempted to buy it as a Christmas present for a Celtic relative, check they won't be upset.
But rest assured, all the old glowing chestnuts are there - Henry V, Henry Newbolt, Churchill - and lots of contemporary stars such as Alan Coren, Ian Hislop and Jeremy Paxman We can all dig out our own favourites; mine is Leo Abse's 'brief encounter' take on Adlestrop. But Coward and Brooke and Joyce Grenfell and ... the list is endless and always satisfying.
It's material to bring a smile, to stir the blood or to prompt a smarting tingle at the back of your eyes. It's also a well-produced, attractively bound book, solid in the hand at £9.99. More generous publishers might have given us an index so that we could find our favourites without having to flick through all 200 plus pages every time.
If you're English, you'll need no encouragement to buy it. If you're not English, then it will give you a taste of what you're missing.
David Shepherd is Chair of the DOOR’s Editorial Group. England, My England By Gerry Hanson Robson Books £9.99
