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In Search of the English Eccentric: A Journey
 
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In Search of the English Eccentric: A Journey (Hardcover)

by Henry Hemming (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
RRP: £16.99
Price: £12.48 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with Misadventure in the Middle East: Travels as Tramp, Artist and Spy by Henry Hemming

In Search of the English Eccentric: A Journey + Misadventure in the Middle East: Travels as Tramp, Artist and Spy
Price For Both: £19.17

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: John Murray (12 Jun 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0719522129
  • ISBN-13: 978-0719522123
  • Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.6 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 154,874 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

A lovely, heartfelt paean to English eccentrics, by a member of the tribe. A funny, timely and moving encounter with a dying breed. --Jon Ronson

The new Michael Palin. --Tatler


Review

'A lovely, heartfelt paean to English eccentrics, by a member of the tribe. A funny, timely and moving encounter with a  dying breed.'

(Jon Ronson )

‘Hemming keeps up a stream of comic patter’

(Guardian )

‘Hemming makes some good points’

(Sunday Telegraph/ Seven )

The new Michael Palin

(Tatler )

‘If nothing else this book confirms the old adage “there’s nothing so strange as folk”

(Folkestone Herald & Dover Express )

‘Entertaining and thought-provoking ... Hemming unearths a surprisingly large array of delightfully odd characters’

(Cambridge Evening News )
See all Product Description

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

In Search of the English Eccentric: A Journey
93% buy the item featured on this page:
In Search of the English Eccentric: A Journey 4.8 out of 5 stars (5)
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Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (4)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommend it, 8 Mar 2009
By V. de Menil (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I found In Search of the English Eccentric in the travel section of my local bookstore, but it is far more than a travel book. In the context of travel writing, the author exoticises his native Britain led by a quest for eccentrics. The travel is also across time, reviving dandies dustied with age, in an effort to update the concept of the eccentric from its Victorian roots.

Unlike a travel book, however, this is not a list of people or places to see. The book is carefully structured around themes and introduces us to characters who fail to meet the definition of eccentric as well as to those who come out triumphant. Questioning the concept of eccentric leads Hemming into provocative terrain regarding the relationship between eccentricity, madness, perversion and creativity.

Creativity is clearly a theme close to the heart of the author, who is an artist of his own right. Each chapter is illustrated with etchings made by Hemming in the manner of a 19th century botanist. And the narrative is peppered with metaphor, creating unexpected images at every page turn. The book also reads like theatre in parts, full of carefully recorded dialogue between Hemming and his subjects.

In short, this is a playful book with an entertaining approach to serious and well researched questions about the relationship of individuals to society. I highly recommend it.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brainfood , 14 Jul 2008
By Olivia (London) - See all my reviews
Wow - this was such a fascinating book! It shook up my ideas about difference and marginality. It portrays how the eccentrics' lives develop a contemporary notion of eccentricity without loosing the dimensions of the people. From the weightlessness of remembering what it is like to be childlike to issues of a national identity, it charts a journey of theoretical development with a sense of adventure and fun. Almost above all, the writing opens out moments in vibrant and vivid ways and manages to be both wide-ranging in its historical reach and yet also specific and intimate.
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5.0 out of 5 stars In search of the English Eceentric, 4 Jul 2009
I'm featured in the book as one of the Eccentrics - who swims in the Serpentine all year round - so of course I enjoyed reading it!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A tremendous book
A captivating book combining history, psychology and social commentary - and written with a playful, light touch. Read more
Published 6 months ago by marian

4.0 out of 5 stars In Search of the English Eccentric
Why did I like this book?

Roster of lively characters. Loveable puppy of an
inquisitor. Stunning panorama of a curious contemporary England. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. A. J. Braithwaite

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