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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXGBR168. Buy these 4 items as a set for $91 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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Eyewitness Guide Great Britain

Eyewitness Guide Great Britain

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 720 PAGES

With 1,400 photos, maps and excellent introductory chapters, this guide is both a general introduction to Great Britain and a region-by-region look at its attractions. (GBR01, $30.00)

The British Isles, A History of Four Nations

The British Isles, A History of Four Nations

by Hugh Kearney

  • HISTORY
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 324 PAGES

The Celts, Romans, Vikings, Normans and modern immigrants all make an appearance in Kearney's elegant and revisionist history of not just the English but also of the Scots, Welsh and Irish. (GBR88, $39.99)

The Mother Tongue, English and How it Got That Way

The Mother Tongue, English and How it Got That Way

by Bill Bryson

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 270 PAGES

An indispensable guide to the language that divides us, this book is an informative linguistic history which showcases Bryson's wry wit. (GBR15, $14.99)

Great Britain Map

Great Britain Map

by Ordnance Survey

  • MAP

A homegrown, excellent map at a scale of 1:625,000. (GBR06, $14.95)

 
Fodor's London's 25 Best

Fodor's London's 25 Best


by Fodor's

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 128 PAGES

This slim guide to London (with handy full-color maps) has everything you need to know for a short visit to the city, including recommended sightseeing, restaurants, hotels and shops. (GBR08, $11.95)

Oxford, A Cultural and Literary Companion

Oxford, A Cultural and Literary Companion


by David Horan

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 246 PAGES

This guide to the city and university focuses on the many writers and historic personalities from King Charles to Shelley, Christopher Wren, Oscar Wilde, Dr. Johnson, Alice of the Looking Glass, and C.S. Lewis. (GBR239, $15.00)

A Welsh Childhood

A Welsh Childhood


by Alice Thomas Ellis | Patrick Sutherland

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 186 PAGES
  • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE

An autobiographical set of stories and observations by a Welsh novelist, capturing day-to-day life in the countryside. Complemented by black-and-white photographs, this handsome edition evokes the culture, life and landscapes of Penaenmawr in North Wales. (GBR132, $24.95)

Scotland, A Concise History

Scotland, A Concise History


by Fitzroy MacLean | Magnus Linklater

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 248 PAGES

With 250 well-integrated illustrations, this lively and authoritative history covers the romantic figures and bloody battles from the early clans up to the present. (SCT15, $19.95)

The Age of Shakespeare

The Age of Shakespeare


by Francois Laroque

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

This pocket-size encyclopedia, an excellent introduction to Elizabethan England, presents Shakespeare, his life, times and legacy in concise essays and well-chosen illustrations. (GBR11, $12.95)

The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England

The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England


by Antonia Fraser

  • HISTORY
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 384 PAGES

Lady Fraser gathers eight British historians for this engaging, illustrated history of the monarchy from 1066 to the House of Windsor, chock full of personality, incident and scandal. (GBR160, $34.95)

The Most Beautiful Villages of Scotland

The Most Beautiful Villages of Scotland


by Hugh Palmer

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 2004
  • HARD COVER
  • 208 PAGES

Not just drop-dead beautiful, this lavishly illustrated compendium includes suggestions for historic hamlets, market towns, castles and estates. With notes on travel, hotels, restaurants and accommodations. (SCT81, $40.00)

The Story of England

The Story of England


by Christopher Hibbert

  • HISTORY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Beautifully illustrated with color pictures, chronological charts, royal genealogies and maps, this popular history of English politics, economics and culture from the Neolithic age to the 1990s is an excellent traveler's companion. (GBR02, $19.95)

Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages

Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages


by Alain Erlande-Brandenburg

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

This pocket-size encyclopedia of the art, architecture and culture of the Middle Ages features hundreds of drawings, color illustrations and a brief chronology. (MED07, $15.95)

Stonehenge

Stonehenge


by Rosemary Hill

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2008
  • HARD COVER
  • 224 PAGES

Hill captures the enduring mystery and allure of Stonehenge in this witty meditation on the myth and meaning of the most famous prehistoric site in all Europe. (GBR795, $19.95)

Stonehenge Complete

Stonehenge Complete


by Christopher Chippindale

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 296 PAGES

An excellent introduction to Europe's most mysterious ancient site, fully illustrated and comprehensive. (GBR13, $24.95)

A Writer's House in Wales

A Writer's House in Wales


by Jan Morris

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2002
  • HARD COVER
  • 192 PAGES

In this extended essay, Morris uses her much-loved 18th-century house as a point of departure for a meditation on Welsh identity. (GBR325, $20.00)

In Search of England

In Search of England


by H.V. Morton | James Morris

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 274 PAGES

The much-beloved, enduring account of Morton's ramblings through the English countryside in the early days of the motorcar. Morton charmingly mixes a deep appreciation of the art, culture and history of the place with his own keen observations. (GBR368, $16.00)

Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots


by Antonia Fraser

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 613 PAGES

This richly readable biography, the story of a legend who was loved even en route to her death, illuminates Mary's age as well as the figure herself. (SCT01, $20.00)

Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel

Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel


by Jerome Jerome | Jeremy Lewis

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 361 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Written in 1889, "Three Men in a Boat" (to say nothing of the dog!) is a laugh-out-loud account of a man-powered voyage along the River Thames, full of detail on life and lore. A Longitude favorite. (GBR28, $11.95)

Angry Island, Hunting the English

Angry Island, Hunting the English


by A. Gill

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 240 PAGES

A comic manual to the English by a splendidly irreverent London critic. Gill includes scathing chapters on voice, humor, drink, animals, garden, sport and class. (GBR715, $14.00)

Literary Trails, British Writers in their Landscapes


by Christina Hardyment

  • LITERATURE
  • 2000
  • HARD COVER
  • 256 PAGES

A survey of the British landscapes that have given shape to the literary characters of Jane Austen, Daphne du Maurier, Virginia Woolf, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, and Wordsworth. (GBR164, $49.50)

Poor Things


by Alasdair Gray

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 317 PAGES

Set in 19th-century Edinburgh, Gray's satirical novel-within-a-novel chronicles a mad scientist's attempt to create the perfect companion. The oversize paperback includes the author's wonderfully strange illustrations. (SCT173, $14.95)

Rob Roy

Rob Roy


by Sir Walter Scott

  • LITERATURE
  • 1995
  • PAPER
  • 501 PAGES

Adventure in the highlands of 18th-century Scotland starring the dashing outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor. Part of the "Penguin Classics" series, this book contains explanatory notes and an introduction that sets it in its historical context. (SCT20, $11.00)

Selected Poetry of William Wordsworth

Selected Poetry of William Wordsworth


by John O. Hayden | William Wordsworth

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 784 PAGES

A collection of William Wordsworth's most celebrated poems. Includes selections from the "Lyrical Ballads," "The Excursion" and "The Prelude." (GBR147, $12.95)

The Portable Romantic Poets

The Portable Romantic Poets


by Norman Holmes Pearson | W.H. Auden

  • LITERATURE
  • 1972
  • PAPER
  • 540 PAGES

This is the anthology to take along on a trip to England's Lake District, Italy's Cinqueterre or any other classic haunt of the romantic poets. This selection includes works by all the masters (and even an occasional mistress). (GBR346, $20.00)

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie


by Muriel Spark

  • LITERATURE
  • 2009
  • PAPER
  • 150 PAGES

A terribly witty novel from the incomparable Dame Muriel. Miss Jean Brodie is an unorthodox teacher at an Edinburgh girls' boarding school who wins the hearts and minds of her students, only to discover that girls from the provinces are ill-prepared for progressive thought. (SCT42, $13.99)

A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe

A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe


by Guy Mountfort

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 212 PAGES

A classic field guide in the Peterson series. (EUR15, $25.00)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.