England

Seven Myths That Changed a Country - and How to Set Them Straight

By: Tom Baldwin, Marc Stears

Write A Review

Paperback | 29 July 2025

At a Glance

Paperback
368 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
19.8 x 12.9 x 2.5

Paperback

RRP $22.99

$22.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $5.69 with

Ships in 3 to 5 business days

A PROSPECT BOOK OF THE YEAR

âChallenging, forensic, compelling' SATHNAM SANGHERA
âPure centrist erotica. A myth-busting chronicle of bad-tempered, Brexit-riven England' SUNDAY TIMES
âWonderfully evocative. Too honest, too nuanced and too deep for any party manifesto' MATTHEW PARRIS

After an election where people voted for a politics that our new Prime Minister describes as 'treading more lightly on peopleâs lives', this must-read book charts a gentler course for a country that has suffered the ructions of profound change in recent decades.

Some politicians will still talk of restoring an English birthright of liberty and the swashbuckling self-confidence to rule the waves. Others yearn for the old-fashioned morality which they claim once civilised a savage world or want to look inwards to a story of an enchanted island that can stand alone and isolated against the world.

But England, by Tom Baldwin, the bestselling biographer of Keir Starmer, and Marc Stears, an influential think tank head, unravels the myths that have distorted ideas of this country and provided ammunition for culture warriors from both left and right.

Instead of vainly promising to solve everything all at once, Baldwin and Stears provide clues for how a humbler, less grandiose, set of ideas rooted in real lives can help fix some of the things that have gone so badly wrong in recent years.

They travel from muddy fields in the Home Counties to the ports of Plymouth and Hull. They visit the old industrial heartland of Wolverhampton, spend weekends in the worn-down seaside resort of Blackpool, then gaze up the gleaming towers of modernity on the edge of London and the dreaming spires of Oxford. Along the way, they speak with many different people who tell stories of England, including politicians Nigel Farage and David Lammy, campaigner Chrisann Jarrett, playwright James Graham and scientist Sarah Gilbert.

What emerges is a startlingly fresh and vivid picture of an old country that belongs to everyone, or at least, to no one in particular.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.