England For All Seasons

Rating:
Summary: When is the next flight to London?
Review: "Cloudy with outbreaks of rain at times. However, there will be drier interludes."

Thus might an English weathercaster ambiguously predict the day's weather, as noted in the first chapter of ENGLAND FOR ALL SEASONS, the third book in a series by travel essayist Susan Allen Toth on her ongoing romance with England and all things English. (The other two books in the series are MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH ENGLAND and ENGLAND AS YOU LIKE IT.)

Granted, for someone residing where the climate is livable year round, say Los Angeles, CA, such a weather prediction might not offer much inducement to make the eleven-hour trip across The Pond. However, if living in a place with beastly humid, hot summers and teeth-chatteringly frigid, snowy winters, say Downer's Grove, IL, there's a lot to be said for England's temperate climate, however uncertain its application.

ENGLAND FOR ALL SEASONS is chock full of so many of Susan's reminiscences and recommendations, all presented in her usual humorous and relaxed style, that it's hard to summarize the book without writing a review of similar length. The twenty-five chapters cover a multitude of topics. The art of garden visiting, and the temptations of the "sweet trolley", a.k.a. the restaurant dessert cart. Buying books in England, and the exploration of literary landscapes, i.e. the exploration of those locales in which the country's legion of authors lived and wrote about. "Lolloping" around London, perhaps best translated as a relaxed peregrination to the city's numerous attractions, including some of the major museums (Transport Museum, Imperial War Museum, Theatre Museum, National Portrait Gallery) and grand historic houses. Then there are those quirky depositories outside the capital devoted to the oddest of interests: bagpipes, thimbles, ceramics, plasterwork, waterways, oast houses, lawn tennis, stained glass, and (!) lawnmowers. Susan whisks us away on a tour of the Thames as it meanders its way through London. Then it's off to the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall, the Scottish island of Mull (popular Skye's "shy sister"), and the Welsh island of Anglesey. If you're a creature lover, you'll be delighted on field trips to various animal sanctuaries for donkeys, otters, seals (near the village of Gweek), and owls.

It's apparent that the author escorts the armchair traveler well beyond England's boundaries deep into Wales and Scotland. This is not because England is wanting in things to do or see, but rather in recognition of the fact that many, if not most, of her fellow Americans are woefully insensitive to the distinction between England and Great Britain. Bloody Yanks.

I can conclude with no better than Susan's very words, because my several trips to the United Kingdom would cause me to advise the same:

"But, when I finish a book, I'm a little sad, too. Writing about my trips reminds me that they're over; I will never have exactly that experience again... Perhaps that touch of sadness has to do with my realization that places and people change. Travelers know this. Perhaps we take those snapshots because we know that even if we return to this precise spot, it will never be exactly the same... I want to urge everyone who dreams of going to England, go NOW."

Rating:
Summary: Romantically written thumbnail sketch of her "ideal England"
Review: After exhausting my guidebooks purchased for an upcoming trip to London, I was looking for a book that could act like an old friend recomending their favorite haunts. From the title I expected to receive suggestions of ideal itineraries when traveling during the different seasons. Instead, I read about a host of ideas of unusual things to do and see in London, but not separated out by season which was disappointing. Despite not living up to my expectations, I still became engrossed in her detailed descriptions of her husband's and her adventures in England. Her gifted writing style allows you, the reader, to feel like you're walking along side Susan on your way to a new and exciting discovery of England!

Rating:
Summary: The third of S. A. Toth's affectionate reminiscences
Review: Ms. Toth is at it again -- making one long for a visit to the isle of book shops and tea rooms, great theatre and lovely gardens. This, the third volume in the series, has particularly good information on theatre-going, museums, and London transport.

While I enjoyed the book, I do have some reservations about recommending it. Again there is a heavy emphasis on gardens, with a LOT of specific information about what flower species are present and where they're located in various gardens. I think the author writes very well on literary landscapes and I would like to have had more than one short chapter. I do wish the author and her husband would branch out a bit -- in the three books of the series they visit many of the same areas many times over -- Cornwall in particular -- but totally neglect others. My only other complaint, and it sounds silly, is that Ms. Toth seems a bit of a ninny in this book, though she was very charming in the other two volumes: she intrudes, rather rudely I thought, on a priest teaching a class; she does not know that European VHS tapes do not work in U.S. machines; she is several times 'unsettled' by images which turn out to be statues or sculptures; she is a bit more condescending toward people who don't share her philosophy of travel.

While the author gives valuable contact information for various agencies, I do hope that future editions will include online resources as well.

If you love England, and especially if you love English gardens, this book will delight you. While not as charming as the author's first book about visiting Great Britain, My Love Affair with England, it is still loaded with good information and fun anecdotes.

No index.

Rating:
Summary: The third of S. A. Toth's affectionate reminiscences
Review: Ms. Toth is at it again -- making one long for a visit to the isle of book shops and tea rooms, great theatre and lovely gardens. This, the third volume in the series, has particularly good information on theatre-going, museums, and London transport.

While I enjoyed the book, I do have some reservations about recommending it. Again there is a heavy emphasis on gardens, with a LOT of specific information about what flower species are present and where they're located in various gardens. I think the author writes very well on literary landscapes and I would like to have had more than one short chapter. I do wish the author and her husband would branch out a bit -- in the three books of the series they visit many of the same areas many times over -- Cornwall in particular -- but totally neglect others. My only other complaint, and it sounds silly, is that Ms. Toth seems a bit of a ninny in this book, though she was very charming in the other two volumes: she intrudes, rather rudely I thought, on a priest teaching a class; she does not know that European VHS tapes do not work in U.S. machines; she is several times 'unsettled' by images which turn out to be statues or sculptures; she is a bit more condescending toward people who don't share her philosophy of travel.

While the author gives valuable contact information for various agencies, I do hope that future editions will include online resources as well.

If you love England, and especially if you love English gardens, this book will delight you. While not as charming as the author's first book about visiting Great Britain, My Love Affair with England, it is still loaded with good information and fun anecdotes.

No index.

Rating:
Summary: Back to basics...
Review: Toth returned to her forte in this book, describing her own adventures which she does best. I enjoy her newsy writing, what you would expect from a friend or close relative. Although I've made many trips to England, she always manages to find something I haven't visited, and sure enough she did it in this book too. I found her "Meandering Through Museums" most helpful. It's too easy to stay with the same old favorites, and I always hit a few of them, but London is diverse and it pays to get off the beaten track. On my last trip a year and a half ago, I went out of my way to try some of her recommendations. I won't list them all here of course, but there seems to be a museum for anything and everthing in Great Britain. Like thimbles? There's a museum in Biggar Scotland filled with them. "On walls lined with row after row of very narrow shelves, only inches apart." Of course, if you're into almost anything, the Vicoria and Albert Museum in London will fill the bill. After several trips, I still haven't exhausted the place.

Toth not only finds odd little museums as well as old favorites, she finds odd little places. How about Groombridge Place near Tunbridge Wells. I stayed in Tunbridge once and I don't think I even heard of it. How does she do it?

Rating:
Summary: Back to basics...
Review: Toth returned to her forte in this book, describing her own adventures which she does best. I enjoy her newsy writing, what you would expect from a friend or close relative. Although I've made many trips to England, she always manages to find something I haven't visited, and sure enough she did it in this book too. I found her "Meandering Through Museums" most helpful. It's too easy to stay with the same old favorites, and I always hit a few of them, but London is diverse and it pays to get off the beaten track. On my last trip a year and a half ago, I went out of my way to try some of her recommendations. I won't list them all here of course, but there seems to be a museum for anything and everthing in Great Britain. Like thimbles? There's a museum in Biggar Scotland filled with them. "On walls lined with row after row of very narrow shelves, only inches apart." Of course, if you're into almost anything, the Vicoria and Albert Museum in London will fill the bill. After several trips, I still haven't exhausted the place.

Toth not only finds odd little museums as well as old favorites, she finds odd little places. How about Groombridge Place near Tunbridge Wells. I stayed in Tunbridge once and I don't think I even heard of it. How does she do it?