England My England Audiobook By Mark Dery cover art

England My England

Anglophilia Explained

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England My England

By: Mark Dery
Narrated by: Mark Ashby
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About this listen

Downton Abbey has brought out the Anglophile in American fans of the hit TV series. But Anglophilia has a long history in America. Why are some native-born residents of our Shining City Upon a Hill, where All Men Are Created Equal, seduced by the fluting tones of manor-born privilege? At last, Anglophilia explained - in American, thank you.

©2013 Mark Dery (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
Literature & Fiction Satire Comedy Funny
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Editorial reviews

Why are many supposedly egalitarian Americans fascinated by the aristocratic privilege of Britain as displayed by Downton Abbey and the royal family? In this illuminating essay, cultural critic Mark Dery explores the attractions that Britain's literature, music, and style present for Americans. From a childhood fascination with the Wonder Books to an adolescent fixation on Jethro Tull and adulthood admiration for Christopher Hitchens, Dery’s take is highly personal, yet also displays larger societal insight. By turns savage and sympathetic, his prose is also wryly funny. Performer Mark Ashby does a good job capturing Dery's tone, and alternating between the British and American accents of the text.

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A nutless monkey could do it. The book description promised “savage & sympathetic” as well as “wryly funny.” I only heard savage & harshly critical. Paired with the performer’s nasal voice, it was neither interesting nor enjoyable. 😕 Kudos to the performer’s choice of obnoxious & strident intonation, which fit the prose.

Criticizing is Easy.

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After 10 minutes I couldn't understand what the hell was this thing about and deleted it.

Listened for 10 minutes

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What the heck? This was a waste! I have no idea what the point of the essay was at all. What? I feel a bit upset I wasted 48 minutes of my time on this. Nothing was explained at all. Waste! Thank God I didn't pay for it.

What was the point?

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This is a bigoted, liberalist piece of garbage. I would not recommend this title to anyone at anyitme, anywhere. This is just a published manifesto of a sick, twisted and vile mind! DO NOT BOTHER!

Even at the price of FREE, not worth the time.

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This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I guess people who think Anglophiles are snobbish, social climbing jerks might enjoy this book. Thankfully it was only 48 minutes long so I listened to the end. Certainly not what I expected.

Any additional comments?

If you love being an Anglophile then you can give this title a miss.

Qualifies as my most irritating Audible purchase

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Overall, I found the information in the book interesting. I just found that the information didn't come up in the most fascinating way.

Hmmm...

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This is supposed to be a comical view of English (British) culture for Americans who have little to no understanding of the universe beyond the American borders.

England...for Americans

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Would you try another book from Mark Dery and/or Mark Ashby?

No.

What was most disappointing about Mark Dery’s story?

I saw no overarching point to the essay. It seemed to just be an opportunity to try to impress people with needlessly flowery language and spew insults to m political opposition.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Mark Ashby?

N/A

What character would you cut from England My England?

The author.

pointless

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"Give us that veil of illusions, Anglophiles seem to be saying. Better that fairytale feudalism of Kate and William than the bright smiling rapacity of Mitt Romney and the incomparable vulgarity of Donald Trump."

*essay gains a star for entertaining statement of obvious*

"Isn't 'community' what so many recent Brit-based myths are really selling? Whether it's the race-based tribalism of Lord of the Rings ..."

*essay loses star for addressing something the author obviously knows nothing about in a manner that makes me want to slap someone*

Five minutes later...

I don't like this guy much. If he self-identifies as an Anglophile, he really hates himself. The level of contempt in this little piece is startling.

Two minutes later still...

And I'm out. *abandons ship* This was not, to rather appropriately warp a Britishism, as labeled on the tin. Do I understand Anglophilia in general better? I do not. Do I understand my own Anglophilia better? I do not.

Happily, I don't need to.

I'm not part of the "Diana cult"; I don't much care about the current royal family. That's not the only brand of "Oh to be in England" there is. While Mr. Dery might have been on the right track in regards to the role of a wish for community in Anglophilia, I feel the track strayed off into fenlands when he tried to take it further. At least for me. Yes, I think the community aspect of a village in the Cotswolds (or an Elvish haven, or a Hogwarts house) is part of the allure of a lot of what I read and watch and love - but by no means is it everything, and implying that Anglophilia all but equals racism? Right. Thanks for your opinion. Push off.

Yes, thank you, I'm aware that the England I would cheerfully commit mayhem to achieve for myself doesn't really exist. I live where I live, and the odds against my ever actually making it to England grow steeper by the year, so - allow me to enjoy it, ok? My ideal English village or London flat (a la Miss Marple or Lord Peter, respectively) are as soap-bubble in nature as Rivendell and Winterfell.

I don't really care. I enjoy the illusion. Mr. Dery, please label your contempt for such illusions as such in future, so that people will know to avoid it.

The narrator was adequate, although the author's (in context) weird dislike for Englishness bled through his reading. I really, really hope this was free.

This was free, I hope?

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There were enough positive Amazon reviews to overcome my skepticism from the negative reviews, and after all, it was free and less than an hour long. How much of a gamble could it be? More than you'd think.

I found this essay incoherently scattered, heavily dependent on comments from other authors, but failing to state a distinct thesis to build an argument on. The result was a failure to explain American Anglophilia, and what came across to me a general contempt of American fans of Masterpiece and BBC America. Not the fun I had hoped it would be.

Failure to achieve objective.

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