Real England

I occasionally say of a book that it is important, and that everyone should read it; this time I say so more emphatically than ever.
The Guardian, Paperback of the Week

A watershed study; a crucially important book; the most significant account of today’s England I have read … Kingsnorth is drawing the battle-lines of a new politics.
The Independent

A readable call to arms, in the tradition of other national polemicists such as Cobbett, Priestley and Orwell.
The Observer

A fine piece of old-fashioned journalism that is both original and throught-provoking … an angry, timely and brilliant book.
The Sunday Herald

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Real England is a personal journey through a nation whose character is being lost to the homogenising forces of global capitalism and an overbearing state. I spent nine months travelling the highways and waterways of my home country, visiting threatened street markets and squatted cafes, privatised city centres and occupied boatyards, ancient orchards and giant shopping malls, to paint a picture of a nation losing its identity, and to give voice to the people fighting back.

Real England made made something of an impact. It was quoted in speeches by David Cameron and the Archbishop of Canterbury and it led to me getting involved in any number of related projects, from talking to London think tankers about English identity to being invited by the director of the play Jerusalem to talk to the cast about the issues the book raises.

Portobello Books, 2008.

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