Notes from a Small Island

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Notes from a Small Island
Notes From A Small Island.jpg
Notes From A Small Island cover
Author Bill Bryson
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre Non-fiction
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date
1995
ISBN 0-552-99600-9
OCLC 60305303
Notes from a Small Island is a humorous travel book on Great Britain by American
author Bill Bryson, first published in 1995.

Overview
Bryson wrote Notes from a Small Island when he decided to move back to his native
United States, but wanted to take one final trip around Great Britain, which had
been his home for over twenty years. Bryson covers all corners of the island,
observing and talking to people from as far afield as Exeter in the West Country to
John o' Groats at the north-eastern tip of Scotland's mainland. During this trip he
insisted on using only public transport, but failed on two occasions: in
Oxfordshire and on the journey to John o' Groats he had to rent a car. He also re-
visits Virginia Water where he worked at the Holloway Sanatorium when he first came
to Britain in 1973. (He met his future wife while employed at Holloway.)

On his way, Bryson provides historical information on the places he visits, and
expresses amazement at the heritage in Britain, stating that there were 445,000
listed historical buildings, 12,000 medieval churches, 1,500,000 acres (610,000 ha)
of common land, 120,000 miles (190,000 km) of footpaths and public rights-of-way,
600,000 known sites of archaeological interest and that in his Yorkshire village at
that time, there were more 17th century buildings than in the whole of North
America.

Bryson also pays homage to the humble self-effacing fortitude of British people
under trying times, such as the world wars and Great Depression, as well as the
various peculiarities of Britain and British English (such as not understanding, on
his first arrival, what a counterpane was, and assuming it was something to do with
a window. It is a British English word that means quilt.) Bryson also recalls first
going into an English tobacconist's and hearing the man in front of him ask for
"Twenty Number 6", and assuming that everything in Britain was ordered by number.
(A popular brand at the time was Players No. 6, and in British English it is usual
to ask for 'twenty' (cigarettes), meaning a packet, not twenty of them.)

Reception
In an opinion poll organised for World Book Day in 2003, Notes from a Small Island
was voted by BBC Radio 4 listeners as the book which best represented Britain.[1]

The book was adapted for Carlton Television in 1998 and appeared as a six-part 30-
minute documentary broadcast on ITV from January to February 1999. The book is also
available in audio book format.

Heavily abridged, the book was read in five fifteen-minute episodes by Kerry Shale
for BBC Radio 4. It has been repeated on BBC Radio 7 several times.[2]
Bryson praises the city of Durham in the book. He later became Chancellor of Durham
University from 2005 to 2011.[3]

The title of Briton Neil Humphreys' book Notes from an Even Smaller Island (written
on his experiences in the former Crown Colony of Singapore) is a reference to
Bryson's book, Humphreys stating in 2012, "When I read Bill Bryson's travel books,
I was inspired to do something similar in Asia (some might say rip him off!
Luckily, Bill Bryson doesn't say that!)".[4]

References
"Bryson tops 'England' poll". BBC News. 6 March 2003. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
"Notes from a Small Island". BBC Online. Retrieved 2010-06-05.
"Bill Bryson - Durham University". Durham University. Retrieved 2014-06-23.
Interview with Neil Humphreys
vte
Bill Bryson - selected bibliography
Travel
The Lost Continent Neither Here nor There Notes from a Small Island A Walk in the
Woods Notes from a Big Country Down Under African Diary The Road to Little
Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island
Language
The Mother Tongue Made in America Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words Bryson's
Dictionary for Writers and Editors
Science
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Memoir
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
Biography
Shakespeare: The World as Stage
History
At Home: A Short History of Private Life One Summer: America, 1927
Commons page Commons Portal Portal
Categories: Books by Bill BrysonBooks about the United Kingdom1995
booksHarperCollins books
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