A wry, often affectionate view on the English, and how to navigate our national personality. 'In England everything is typical. If your train is late, it is typical. If there are no seats on the upper deck of a bus, it is typical. If it starts to rain at five o'clock just before you leave work, it is typical.' 'The English do not like to be wished "Have a nice day", because to them it sounds like a command. They think, Who the hell do you think you are to order me to have a nice day?' Ten years ago, Angela Kiss arrived in the UK without a word of English. All she brought with her was a small bag, a sense of adventure, a desire to work and a copy of George Mikes' classic 1940s' humour book about the peculiarities of the British, How to be an Alien. Through every dodgy flat share, low-paid waitressing job, awkward date and office mishap, Angela held tight to George's wit and wisdom. With his help she began to understand how to live amongst the English - with their eccentricity, spirit and singing train drivers - and fell in love with a land rich in green spaces, pubs and puddings.

'Penguin Readers' are simplified texts designed in association with Longman to provide a step-by-step approach to the joys of reading for pleasure.

This book explores how fin de siècle Britain and Britons displaced spatially-charged apprehensions about imperial decline, urban decay and unpoliced borders onto Jews from Eastern Europe migrating westwards. The myriad of representations of the ‘alien Jew’ that emerged were the product of, but also a catalyst for, a decisive moment in Britain’s legal history: the fight for the 1905 Aliens Act. Drawing upon a richly diverse collection of social and political commentary, including fiction, political testimony, ethnography, travel writing, journalism and cartography, this volume traces the shifting rhetoric around alien Jews as they journeyed from the Russian Pale of Settlement to London’s East End. By employing a unique and innovative reading of both the aliens debate and racialized discourse concerned with ‘the Jew’, Hannah Ewence demonstrates that ideas about ‘space’ and 'place’ critically informed how migrants were viewed; an argument which remains valid in today’s world.

In this compelling and revealing examination, author Rupert Matthews looks afresh at key episodes of alien activity on earth, and sheds light on the many mysterious phenomena associated with it. From Roswell to Taizé, the book dissects fascinating eyewitness accounts of communication and contact with alien beings, as well as chilling cases of a...

The essays collected in this volume identify and analyse the presence of immigrants in late medieval England. Drawing on unique evidence from the alien subsidies collected in England between 1440 and 1487 and other newly accessible archival resources, and deploying a wide range of historical and cultural methods, they reveal the considerable contribution of foreign-born people to the economy, society and culture of England in the age of the Black Death, the Hundred Years War and the Wars of the Roses.

The hilariously accurate, witty and indispensable manual for everyone who longs to attain True Britishness 'Got me in tears of laughter' 5***** Reader Review 'Laugh-out-loud hilarious, witty and insightful' 5***** Reader Review _______ Born in Hungary, George Mikes eventually spent more than forty years in the Britain observing behaviours and misbehaviours of local and foreign Brits. With essential chapters such as "How to Avoid Travelling", "On Shopping", "In Praise of Television", "On Not Complaining" and "How to Panic Quietly", you'll get to know Britain like never before. Loved by readers and authors alike, How to Be a Brit contains Mikes's three major works -- How to be an Alien, How to be Inimitable and How to be Decadent. If you're British, you'll love it; if you're a foreigner, you'll appreciate it. Queuing: "An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one." How to plan a town: "Street names should be painted clearly and distinctly on large boards. Then hide these boards carefully." Sex: "Continental people have sex lives: the English have hot water bottles." George Mikes's perceptive bestseller provides a complete guide to the British Way of Life. _______ 'Hilarious and informative essays about the British way of life' 5***** Reader Review 'So many people have tried to describe the English mentality . . . This book is as near as you can get!' 5***** Reader Review