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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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We feature a handpicked selection of travel guides, maps, literature, books on art, nature and culture, all designed to help you get more out of your travels to England. Order an essential package, and we'll ship any additional items for free.

Essential Reading

Item EXGBR449. Buy these 3 items as a set for $46 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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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)

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)

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)

 
Cotswolds & Gloucestershire Map

Cotswolds & Gloucestershire Map


by Ordnance Survey

  • 2005
  • MAP

A colorful and handy touring map of the Cotswolds. (GBR496, $14.95)

Cotswolds Map

Cotswolds Map


by Ordnance Survey

  • 2005
  • MAP

A terrific, colorful, and very detailed topographic map of the Cotswolds, at a scale of 1:25,000. (GBR124, $13.95)

Oxford Map

Oxford Map


by Ordnance Survey

  • MAP

This detailed, double-sided Ordnance Survey Explorer's map shows parts of the Thames Path, Oxford Canal Walk, Oxfordshire Way and other walks in the countryside at a scale of 1:250,000. (GBR243, $23.95)

Stratford Upon Avon Map


by Geographers' A-Z

  • MAP

A helpful street map of Stratford Upon Avon. (GBR475, $7.95)

Blue Guide Oxford & Cambridge

Blue Guide Oxford & Cambridge


by Geoffrey Tyack

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

This guide in the British series covers in detail the art, history and architecture of Oxford and Cambridge. With maps, site plans and line drawings. (GBR470, $21.95)

The Cotswold Way

The Cotswold Way


by Kev Reynolds

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 216 PAGES

A practical guide in the British series. (GBR588, $19.95)

Walking in the Cotswolds, Discover Idyllic Stone Villages, Tranquil Valleys and Rolling Countryside

Walking in the Cotswolds, Discover Idyllic Stone Villages, Tranquil Valleys and Rolling Countryside


by Automobile Association

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2007
  • HARD COVER

Explore the best parts of Britain's countryside with this guide from the popular series designed for both casual and experienced walkers, including easy to follow maps and directions, helpful tips and color photos throughout. (GBR710, $29.95)

A Traveller's History of Oxford


by Richard Tames

  • HISTORY
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

A compact history from settlement to the present. (GBR374, $14.95)

English History, Made Brief, Irreverent and Pleasurable

English History, Made Brief, Irreverent and Pleasurable


by Lacey Baldwin Smith

  • HISTORY
  • 2007
  • PAPER
  • 262 PAGES

Smith serves up memorable chunks of English history with aplomb, spicing the tale with hilarious cartoons and profiles of the kings, queens and dunces that have led the nation. (GBR869, $17.95)

Notes from a Small Island

Notes from a Small Island


by Bill Bryson

  • CULTURAL PORTRAIT
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 324 PAGES

A farewell walking tour of England by an American expatriate who has decided to return home after two decades. Like all of Bryson's books, it's full of rich conversations, humorous anecdotes and amusing interactions. (GBR16, $14.99)

The Cotswolds, A Cultural History

The Cotswolds, A Cultural History


by Jane Bingham

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

Hingham introduces the churches and manor houses, rich history and celebrated landscapes of southern England in this cultural guide. (GBR901, $16.95)

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)

The Professor and the Madman

The Professor and the Madman


by Simon Winchester

  • HISTORY
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 242 PAGES

The bizarre true story behind the birth of the Oxford English Dictionary and two men -- one a scholarly editor, the other a mentally ill, convicted murderer -- who contributed to its creation. (GBR178, $14.99)

A Year in the Life of the Cotswolds

A Year in the Life of the Cotswolds


by Beata Moore

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 112 PAGES

This lush photographic journey through this quintessentially English countryside includes beautiful color photos and brief essays on towns throughout the region. (GBR860, $29.95)

Cider With Rosie

Cider With Rosie


by Laurie Lee

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 212 PAGES

In this memoir of growing up in a small, remote village in the Cotswolds -- set against the backdrop of the First World War -- Lee captures an all-but-vanished rural way of life. Originally published in 1959. (GBR971, $15.95)

Looking for Class, Days and Nights at Oxford and Cambridge


by Bruce Feiler

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2003
  • PAPER
  • 352 PAGES

A witty, charming and astutely observed account of an American graduate student's year spent in the halls of England's most prestigious academic institutions. (GBR467, $14.95)

Red Sky at Sunrise


by Laurie Lee

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 544 PAGES

This autobiographical trilogy includes Lee's evocative account of his childhood idylls in the Cotswolds and an unforgettable portrait of his beloved Spain, both before and during the Civil War. (SPN435, $28.95)

Shakespeare, A Life


by Park Honan

  • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 512 PAGES

A delightful, informative and up-to-date biography of the Bard, his life, work and times. (GBR472, $34.95)

Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death

Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death


by M.C. Beaton

  • MYSTERY
  • 1999
  • PAPER
  • 201 PAGES

In this installment of the Agatha Raisin series, our heroine has moved to a not-quite-so-quiet village in the Cotswolds, and of course finds her self in the middle of a puzzling murder. (GBR212, $7.99)

All Souls


by Margaret Jull Costa | Javier Marias

  • LITERATURE
  • 2000
  • PAPER
  • 210 PAGES

A visiting Spanish lecturer not unlike Marias illuminates the eccentricities of Oxford life in this contemplative black comedy, fluidly translated by Costa. (GRB52, $14.95)

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)

Murder in the Cotswolds


by A. B., Jr. Guthrie

  • MYSTERY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 208 PAGES

Montana sleuth Chick Charleston is vacationing in the Cotswolds with his wife when he ends up investigating a murder -- and clashing with the local detectives -- in this light-hearted mystery driven by Guthrie's quirky characters and dry wit. (GBR989, $16.95)

The Invention of Love

The Invention of Love


by Tom Stoppard

  • LITERATURE
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 102 PAGES

The writer A.E. Houseman, adrift on the River Styx, meets his younger self, and reflects on a life lived in the shadow of Oscar Wilde. Tom Stoppard's play delivers a powerful, intricate meditation on life, scholarship and the after-life. (GBR165, $12.00)

The Jewel That Was Ours

The Jewel That Was Ours


by Colin Dexter

  • MYSTERY
  • 1993
  • PAPER
  • 256 PAGES

An Inspector Morse mystery set in Oxford. (GBR407, $7.99)

Birds of Europe

Birds of Europe


by Lars Svensson

  • FIELD GUIDE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Featuring 3,500 glorious paintings by Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterstrom, the second revised edition of this exquisite guide has been brought up to date with revised text and maps. (FG47, $29.95)

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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.