The Full English: A Journey in Search of a Country and its People

Written by Stuart Maconie

Narrated by Stuart Maconie

A Sunday Times Book of the Week and Top 10 Bestseller A Times bestseller A Waterstones Paperback of the Year 2024 A Spectator Book of the Year

What kind of country is England today?

What does it mean to be English?

Are we hungry for change or seeking old certainties?

Join Stuart Maconie on an enlightening, entertaining journey through England, from Bristol's Banksy to Durham's beaches, from Cotswolds corduroy to Stoke's oatcakes.

As his guide, Maconie walks in the footsteps of J.B. Priestley's classic travelogue, English Journey, to explore our national identity and how it has evolved over the last century. On his way, Stuart takes inspiration from the people he meets at bus stops and train stations, cafes and corner shops.

Travelling the length of the land, Maconie explores the differences between city and town, north and south, and examines our past and present with affection and insight. Whether he’s passing the boutique hotels of Manchester, the moors of Ilkley or the grand houses of Tynemouth, looking out over misty fens or urban skylines, he shines a light on the people who make these places and asks what the future holds for them. Along the way, he uncovers local heroes and secret histories over early breakfasts and last orders.

Through his journey, he lets us see our homes and habits, hopes and eccentricities with fresh eyes. The Full English challenges us to embrace the messy, shifting and diverse nature of England, and to ask ourselves what kind of country we want to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Release date: Apr 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9780008498283

Stuart Maconie

Stuart Maconie is a writer, broadcaster and journalist familiar to millions from his work in print, on radio and on TV. His previous bestsellers have included Cider with Roadies, Pies and Prejudice and Adventures on the High Teas. He hosts a show for BBC Radio 6 Music (with Mark Radcliffe) every weekend morning between 8 and 11am. Based in Birmingham and Manchester, he can also often be spotted on top of a mountain in the Lake District with a Thermos flask and individual pork pie. He is a champion ice skater and once shared a van with Napalm Death.

Reviews for The Full English

[Craig Stanley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book. Great sections on the North East of England. An honest reflective journey.

[Andrew Farnsworth · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love listening to Stuart Maconie. I've never been disappointed by any of his books. This book suffers a little coming so closely to Jarrow and the Nanny State, in once again its looking at the past from eyes of the future. The book find him following JB Priestley 1934 journeys around England. Stuart shares anecdotes, culinary and drinking tips as well as info on the various places that he visits and how time has changed them. It's a largely positive book, that I think it's needed at a time when the country is so riven with the problems let over from Brexit and Covid. It avoids being a polemic, although he doesn't shy away from the issues, he doesn't agree with Brexit he knows why it happened.