Filled with curiosities . . . Ambitious, with a tinge of eccentricity and perfectly grown-up enough to sustain the occasional disagreement, this is a rich pleasure of a book. -- Philip Hensher * The Spectator * Robb tumbles into British history with an infectious enthusiasm . . . immensely entertaining -- Chris Bryant, author of The Glamour Boys Written with a characteristic mix of confidence, self- effacement, intelligence and humour, The Discovery of Britain is as charming as it is informative. * TLS * Remarkable . . . a book as much about the experience of history as history itself . . . Learned and likeable. * The Sunday Times * Meticulous, contrary . . . Robb has the superb ability of taking a single off-kilter subject and widening it out to illuminate something much larger. * Shortlist * A dazzling and dizzyingly wonderful roam through Britains past. This is history writing as youve never read it before enchanting and truly exciting. -- Jack Cornish, author of The Lost Paths Engagingly rediscovers Britains past in unexpected ways, melding memory and observation with history and geography. -- Brian Groom, author of Made in Manchester A history where everything is somehow still present and all at once, colourful and jostling along, like a tapestry that draws you close. -- Garrett Carr, author of The Boy from the Sea A master geographer of the oldest and newest forms of life on a sodden, self-aggrandizing island outpost. * The Washington Post *
