{"product_id":"england-their-england","title":"England, Their England","description":"England, Their England is an affectionately satirical inter-war comic novel first published in 1933. It hit the right spot at the time and became a bestseller, and has endured as a classic of humour, transending the passage of time. It is particularly famed for its portrayal of a village cricket match. The plot  -  if there can be said to be a plot  -  is set in 1920s England, the book is written as if a travel memoir by a young Scotsman who had been invalided away from the Western Front, \"Donald Cameron\", whose father's will forces him to reside in England. There he writes for a series of London newspapers, before being commissioned by a Welshman to write a book about the English from the view of a foreigner. Taking to the country and provincial cities, Donald spends his time doing research for a book on the English by consorting with journalists and minor poets, attending a country house weekend, serving as private secretary to a Member of Parliament, attending the League of Nations, and playing village cricket. The village cricket match is the most celebrated episode in the novel, and a reason cited for its enduring appeal.An important character is Mr Hodge; a caricature of Sir John Squire (poet and editor of the London Mercury) while the cricket team described in the book's most famous chapter is a representation of Sir John's Cricket Club  -  the Invalids  -  which survives today.   The book ends in the ancient city of Winchester, where MacDonnell had gone to school.  New introduction by Alan Sutton","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487680504181,"sku":"9781781550007","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781781550007.jpg?v=1786354907","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/england-their-england","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}