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Article: The English Enigma: Hugh Williams delights in a book that traces 'Englishness' back to the days before England existed.(Bookmark)
- Article from:
- For A Change
- Article date:
- February 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 For a Change. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I commend Peter Ackroyd's book, Albion--the origins of the English imagination, to all those who love the English. I commend this book to all those who hate the English. But above all I commend it to those who are frustrated that they can neither love nor hate the English but find them both admirable and annoying in equal measure.
You will note that I use the term 'English' and not the more inclusive 'British'. But this book is about the English, not the Scots or the Welsh or the Irish, although the Celts have influenced the English a great deal (as have many other nations and races, as Peter Ackroyd is quick to acknowledge). And I write with a modicum of ...