Buying Options

Kindle Price:	$14.99
	includes tax, if applicable
Sold by:	PRH UK This price was set by the publisher.

promotions apply when you purchase

Add Audible Narration to your purchase for just $3.99

Deliver to your Kindle or other device

Redeem a promotion code or gift card

Share <Embed>

Notes From A Small Island: Journey Through Britain (Bryson) by [Bill Bryson]

Audible Narration

Playing...

Paused

Follow the Author

Bill Bryson

Notes From A Small Island: Journey Through Britain (Bryson) Kindle Edition

by Bill Bryson (Author)

1,297 ratings

See all 19 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$14.99

—

Audible Audiobook, Abridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$147.59

$141.64

—

Paperback

"Please retry"

$16.95

—

Paperback

"Please retry"

$29.61

$17.77

—

Audio CD, Abridged, Audiobook, CD

"Please retry"

$20.65

—

Audio, Cassette, Audiobook, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$49.00

—

In 1995, before leaving his much-loved home in North Yorkshire to move back to the States for a few years with his family, Bill Bryson insisted on taking one last trip around Britain, a sort of valedictory tour of the green and kindly island that had so long been his home. His aim was to take stock of the nation's public face and private parts (as it were), and to analyse what precisely it was he loved so much about a country that had produced Marmite; a military hero whose dying wish was to be kissed by a fellow named Hardy; place names like Farleigh Wallop, Titsey and Shellow Bowells; people who said 'Mustn't grumble', and ‘Ooh lovely’ at the sight of a cup of tea and a plate of biscuits; and Gardeners' Question Time. Notes from a Small Island was a huge number-one bestseller when it was first published, and has become the nation's most loved book about Britain, going on to sell over two million copies.

Length: 322 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible Narration: Audible Narration Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible narration. Add narration for a reduced price of $3.99 after you buy the Kindle book. Ready	Language: English

Similar books to Notes From A Small Island: Journey Through Britain (Bryson)

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items when the Enter key is pressed. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

Bill Bryson

3,308

Kindle Edition
A$12.99
Bill Bryson

877

Kindle Edition
A$14.99
Bill Bryson

455

Kindle Edition
A$12.99
Bill Bryson

1,503

Kindle Edition
A$4.99
Bill Bryson

224

Kindle Edition
A$14.99
Bill Bryson

3,557

Kindle Edition
A$12.99

Product description

Book Description

Bill Bryson's hilarious tour of his adopted country: the book that was voted the nation's favourite book on modern Britain in a World Book Day BBC poll. Contains exclusive preview of Bryson's new book The Road to Little Dribbling.

From the Back Cover

Before New York Times bestselling author Bill Bryson wrote The Road to Little Dribbling, he took this delightfully irreverent jaunt around the unparalleled floating nation of Great Britain, which has produced zebra crossings, Shakespeare, Twiggie Winkie&;s Farm, and places with names like Farleigh Wallop and Titsey.

Review

'Astute and funny ... an amusing guide to the U.K.'s foibles, as well as a tribute to its enchantment.' (New York Times Book Review)

About the Author

When The Lost Continent was published in 1989, Bill Bryson’s savagely funny account of his journey back to his roots in small-town U.S.A. took the reading public by a storm of guffaws. It was followed by Neither Here Nor There, in which Bryson applied his unique brand of wry humour to the foibles of Continental Europe and the Europeans.

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Review

"Not a book that should be read in public, for fear of emitting loud snorts" (The Times)

"Laugh-out-loud funny" (The Good Book Guide)

"Splendid... What's enjoyable is that there's as much of Bryson in here as there is of Britain" (Sunday Telegraph)

"Bryson is funny because he is not afraid to give completely of himself" (Daily Express)

"Astute and funny...a tribute to [Britain's] enchantments by an unabashed anglophile." (New York Times)

From the Inside Flap

ly, in the space of a moment, I realized what it was that I loved about Britain--which is to say, all of it. Every last bit of it, good and bad--old churches, country lanes, people saying 'Mustn't grumble' and 'I'm terribly sorry but,' people apologizing to me when I conk them with a careless elbow, milk in bottles, beans on toast, haymaking in June, seaside piers, Ordinance Survey maps, tea and crumpets, summer showers and foggy winter evenings--every bit of it."

After nearly two decades in Britain, Bill Bryson, the acclaimed author of such bestsellers as The Mother Tongue and Made in America, decided it was time to move back to the United States for a while. This was partly to let his wife and kids experience life in Bryson's homeland--and partly because he had read that 3.7 million Americans believed that they had been abducted by aliens at one time or another. It was thus clear to him that his people needed h

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 1649 KB
Print Length: 322 pages
Publisher: Transworld Digital; New Ed edition (2 March 2010)
Sold by: PRH UK
Language: English
ASIN: B003ATPQ7U
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray:

Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Customer Reviews: 1,297 customer ratings
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #33,795 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #10 in British Travel
- #88 in Travel Writing
- #66 in Travel Essays & Travelogues (Kindle Store)

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Kindle Edition

Bill Bryson

1,503

A$4.99
Kindle Edition

Bill Bryson

455

A$12.99
Kindle Edition

Bill Bryson

3,308

A$12.99
Kindle Edition

Bill Bryson

877

A$14.99

Customer reviews

5 star		60%
4 star		22%
3 star		10%
2 star		4%
1 star		4%

How does Amazon calculate star ratings?

Review this product

Write a customer review

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Laura T

Much like the UK itself: funny, interesting, strange

Reviewed in Australia on 19 September 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I could read Bill Bryson's travel tales forever. Something about his endless enthusiasm for the oddities of people and places, his sense of humour, and his unique insights on history and culture. Notes from a small island is a very interesting read, whether you've visited the UK or not. Also, in the modern age of Trip Advisor, Google and other technologies to make travel plans, reading about Bryson's misadventures and spontaneous detours is excellent.

Helpful

Comment

lori sa

Bryson at his best

Reviewed in Australia on 7 May 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Bryson provides an informative insight into places across the UK, the well-known and not so well known, pulling out important and irrelevant facts that create both humour and wonder?

Helpful

Comment

Robert Terracall

Not his best book but still well worth reading

Reviewed in Australia on 18 April 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Not his best book but still well worth reading. Brysons style is quite different and his turn of phrase unique.

Helpful

Comment

Cyd Ross

Grest read while travelling in UK.

Reviewed in Australia on 4 May 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Loved it. Read while travelling in UK which added interest for me.

Helpful

Comment

Peter Williamson

I think Bryson is a very funny man. His sense of humour is Australian in ...

Reviewed in Australia on 5 December 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I think Bryson is a very funny man. His sense of humour is Australian in it's dryness and unexpected-ness (if that's a word). His prose describing the things that he finds attractive and/or interesting and/or frustrating is very eloquent. As is his prose when he describes something that he finds particularly ugly or inexplicable. I have read 3 of his books now and will definitely be reading more.

Helpful

Comment

winnedreamer

I kept loosing interest as I read

Reviewed in Australia on 9 October 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I think you would have to be familiar with England to understand all the places and humour in this book.

Helpful

Comment

Helen D

Five Stars

Reviewed in Australia on 13 September 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Very informative and laugh out loud funny. Enjoyed it immensely.

Helpful

Comment

Shirley Richardson

Pretty much a laugh on every page as well a

Reviewed in Australia on 8 January 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Bill Bryson always gives you a value for money. Pretty much a laugh on every page as well a travelogue

Helpful

Comment

Top international reviews

Rich

Disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 September 2018

Verified Purchase

I appreciate that Bill Bryson has a huge following and I've come to him very late. I really enjoy travelogues, and with his reputation and the cover blurb, I was expecting a hilarious and fascinating read. Sadly, for me, it was neither of those things. I didn't find his writing particularly engaging and I'm afraid to say I didn't laugh once. I also found many of his anecdotes exaggerated to the point of them losing credibility. Overall it was an easy read and quite interesting, but I'm sad to say I shan't be reading any more of his work, though I had such high hopes.

19 people found this helpful

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Kathryn

Surprisingly disappointed!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2019

Verified Purchase

Really looking forward to, finally, reading this much lauded book. Whilst it was enjoyable reading about the British idiosyncrasies and towns I haven't visited, I found the author's writing quite repetitive - using the same descriptive phrases. I also really disliked his intrusive political comments (they didn't add anything to a book about the British character) and, having assumed him to be a rather pleasant, amusing chap, found him to be unnecessarily vulgar, quite rude to people and generally unpleasant. I was really surprised as I don't usually get to form an opinion of an author via their writing. Obviously, as the book has had such glowing reports, I've missed something!

11 people found this helpful

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Jack Haslam

Great Britain seen through the honest eyes of a foreigner who really loves the place.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2018

Verified Purchase

I was first introduced to Bill Bryson by a close friend who presented me with a copy of "The Lost Continent" for my birthday. I read it, loved it and never stopped laughing. So I immediately bought several more of his books and have just completed "Notes from a small island". It really is a fantastic account of Britain as Britain really is, and for Brits of my age Bryson describes exactly what we grew up with. He has an incisive mind and an eye for detail plus an innate sense of humour that together produce a vivid insight into real life that is often critical, invariably affectionate and always presented with a fantastic sense of humour. I loved every page of this book and can strongly recommend it to true Brits everywhere. I look forward to reading many more of Bill Bryson's books.

9 people found this helpful

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Bluecashmere.

Sadly mediocre.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 February 2020

Verified Purchase

This is my first acquaintance with Bill Bryson, and while it might not be the last, I found this disappointing in the light of the author's popularity. What is lightly amusing at first soon palls. The droll, but rather schoolboy level of humour and the thread of anti-intellectualism - the crass Wordsworth reference stands out - become increasingly tiresome. Much of the observation is facile and stereotyped. Few will have travelled so extensively acoss the UK, but they will find little that is enlightening about those areas they are familiar with. There are a few nuggets of generally unknown facts, but overall I found the book at best shallow. Certainly there are no in-depths insights into the British character to be found here. It may be that as some reviewers suggest we don't encounter Bryson at his best here. Time will tell.

4 people found this helpful

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Stephen Bentley

Time hasn't treated it well.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 February 2020

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I first read this book ten or so years ago. It did make me laugh. I cleared it out to the local charity shop. It hasn't lasted well. The encomium on the last page still rings wonderfully - if you are a habitual listener to Radio 4 - true. And the bonkers department store in Windsor is just as bonkers - nowadays with added Royal Warrant - but it's not Britain as it is, maybe it wasn't Britain as it was.

2 people found this helpful

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

MR TI RUDNY

Funny, but not recommended as a gift

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 September 2019

Verified Purchase

This book is very funny and reading it (once you have been to the UK and you understand what the author is talking about) is absolutely hilarious. With a wit and pun the author accurately describes the British culture and various places.
The big downside for me though is the common use of profane, vulgar language. I wanted to give this book to a friend as a gift, but reading swear words on every page is a no-no.
Is it really so difficult to use humour without swearing?

3 people found this helpful

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Katongo

A must read for all Brits and anyone remotely interested in this most peculiar of countries.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 October 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

It's taken me 21 years to get around to readingthis book after my parents raved about it back in the nineties. I wished I'd read it sooner. It made me laugh out loud within three pages and by the end I felt that I'd learnt a great deal about the country I live in. Bryson has the knack of criticising a place and its people in a charming and somewhat endearing manner. The book is over twenty years old, so is obviously dated in places, such as the references to British Rail for example, but the bulk of it is as relevant today as it was back then.
From reading this book, I've now added Harrogate and Durham to my list of places I'd like to visit one day. I'm not prepared to part with Bryson just yet, so have already downloaded Down Under.

7 people found this helpful

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

E. A. Banks

A Great Review of Great Britiain

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 September 2012

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I read another travel book about Britain earlier this year, but I preferred "Notes on a Small Island" because it is better researched and also because is written by someone who likes this country and the people who live here. There is something distinctly twinkly in Bill Bryson's writing style; although he does lapse into swearing from time to time (I am both a fan and a practitioner of swearing so I didn't mind this at all). This book was written in 1993, just prior to Bryson moving with his family to the USA after almost 20 years in Britain and it is a sort of fond farewell. You could argue that some of the places he visits are seen through the rose tinted spectacles of someone who already has a happy memory of them and isn't entirely sure he wants to leave. However, I see this more as the writing of an enthusiast who looks for the best in things. Yes, there are some places that he didn't like and he is unstinting in some of his criticisms (I am planning to visit the Blaenau Ffestiniog Railway soon - I do hope that the irrational and dangerously fussy man with the annoying and inadequate moustache that Bill Bryson met there has since retired). Bryson does lapse into some rather British grumpy-old-man rants in places (Blaenau Ffestiniog being one of them) but overall this is a very affectionate look at mainland Britain.

3 people found this helpful

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Mr. J. H. Wheeler

Bryson for sainthood!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 December 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I gush when Bryson's name comes up. Can't help it...the guy is one great, earthy, absurdly observational, sarco-wit. I love his stuff. One day, when I grow up, I wanna publish like he does: multiples of great, funny, informative, and intelligent. That I am an American residing in England for many years helps, mind you, so I cannot but help to identify with his viewpoint of life here. And before you think it's all critical, think again. Like Bryson, I lived here for an extended time, went back to the USA for some years, and returned, never able to lose the vacuum of this wonderful island that kept sucking me back to it. Thanks, Bill. Thanks, England.

5 people found this helpful

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Dinkysmum

Teenager rates this!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2019

Verified Purchase

Suggested summer reading by my sons 6th Form College, he’s not a keen reader so I didn’t hold out much hope of him opening it, let alone finishing it. He read the whole book in a fortnight (believe me that’s good) and his critique was “yeah, it’s pretty good mum.”

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Thomas Jensen

Not Bryson's best

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2014

Verified Purchase

"Notes From A Big Country" and "Down Under" had me in tears from laughing, so I eagerly bought and read this book on my other adopted home country, the UK. Maybe I had expectations of it, due to the other books I'd read by Bryson, that it hadn't a chance to live up to, but my general experience of it was that it wasn't quite as sharp-witted as the others. While I know that Bryson loves his home country (even if he never actually says so in "...Big Country") and adores Australia, even though he often declares his love of Britain in this book, I'm left with the impression that he's never really taken to it. He definitely doesn't find quite the humorous glory that he finds in the US and Australia.

All in all, it does feature some good insight into the UK, but it didn't entertain me as much as some of his other books.

One person found this helpful

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Peter W. Ball

Misery

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 June 2018

Verified Purchase

I’m still trying to find the laughing bit. He is a real misery criticising everything. Also unnecessary bad language.

2 people found this helpful

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Nuts About Books

This Book is a Little Slice of Heaven

Reviewed in Canada on 23 March 2005

Verified Purchase

Like many people, I read this book during an airplane flight, while returning from one of my semi-regular trips to the UK. This is one of those books that make you howl with laughter despite the odd looks from strangers alongside. It's a perfect book to read while travelling, or indeed just about anywhere. If you are at all familiar with England (and I mean on a first-hand basis, NOT by watching Hugh Grant movies), you are going to find this book screamingly funny. If not, it will probably make you want to visit the UK. Bill Bryson is no twee, chocolate-boxy travel writer - he relates all the disasters along with the fun, in a manner that reminds you that most so-called travel disasters are never as bad as they seem. Bryson is not entirely uncritical of his adopted nation (and that's the fun part), but he's never nasty - and it's plain that his enthusiasm for England and all things English comes from deep in his heart.

4 people found this helpful

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Mr. James W. Coles

A book that will make you smile, frequently

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 October 2019

Verified Purchase

Witty and interesting tour of Britain, very funny. Bill Bryson deserves a medal for telling how it is and does not lack in accurate historical fact. Most enjoyable from start to finish, bring it on !

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

Mr. William Govan

Amusing and nostalgic.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 May 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I regret that I only recently discovered Bryson. I have so far read this and his book on English/American language, I very much enjoyed both. This book was amusing and nostalgic. Bryson has a way of pointing out our eccentricities that is always funny and never insulting. He holds a mirror to a time that seems, in retrospect, like watching The Office; you recognise the characters and sometimes, embarrassingly, yourself. Definitely one of those must reads.

Sending feedback...

Thank you for your feedback.

Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

You've read the top international reviews

See all reviews from Australia

Buying Options

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

Notes From A Small Island: Journey Through Britain (Bryson) Kindle Edition

Customers who bought this item also bought

Product description

Book Description

From the Back Cover

Review

About the Author

Review

From the Inside Flap

Product details

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Customer reviews

Review this product

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top international reviews