At Home by Bill Bryson

This book came with me to the south coast for a fortnight and it took me the whole two weeks to read. That wasn’t because it was hard going: on the contrary it is written with Bill Bryson’s trademark wit and ease of language. The reason it took so long was that is was absolutely fascinating. This is a book about social history. It uses Bryson’s rectory home in England as that starting point of an investigation into the Victorian period. This inevitably takes him on a journey right around the world as he explores the influence of global trade and political machinations on his sleepy village in England. I kept reading a chapter and the putting it down to think about and then to regale my fellow holiday makers with half a dozen utterly fascinating facts that I’d just discovered. I don’t often even think about re-reading books but I wanted to begin this one again as soon as I had finished it. It is definitely a book to buy and keep and dip back into whenever you have the opportunity. 5 stars