PACKED WITH ASTONISHING FACTS AND WONDERFUL STORIES ON WHAT MAKES THE ENGLISH TICK Q. Why are English train seats so narrow? A. It's all the Romans' fault. The first Victorian trains were built to the same width as horse-drawn wagons; and they were designed to fit the ruts left in the roads by Roman chariots. This intriguing and witty book explains how our national characteristics - our sense of humour, hobbies and favourite foods - are all defined by our nation's extraordinary geography, geology, climate and weather. You will learn how we would be as freezing cold as Siberia without the Gulf Stream; why we drive on the left-hand side of the road; why the Midlands became the home of the British curry. Perfect for readers of Paxman's The English, Bryson's Notes on a Small Island and Fox's Watching the English. Praise for Harry Mount: 'Highly readable, encyclopeadic, marvellous, illuminating . Mount portrays England via dextrous excavations of its geography, geology, history and weather' Independent 'Fascinating. Mount's an intelligent, funny and always interesting companion ' Daily Mail 'Charming and nerdily fact-stuffed ' Guardian