Some of the earliest settlements in North America were located here. Pilgrims from England first settled in New England in 1620 to form the Plymouth Colony. Ten years later, the Puritans settled north of Plymouth Colony in Boston, forming the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Over the next 130 years, New England fought four French and Indian Wars until the British finally defeated the French and their allies in North America.

It was in New England at the end of the 18th century that resistance arose against the British Parliament, which introduced new taxes without the consent of the colonists. The Boston Tea Party, which expressed dissatisfaction among the inhabitants of the colonies, prompted Britain to purge the governments of the colonies. The opposition led to open warfare in 1775 and the expulsion of the English from New England in the spring of 1776, followed by the signing of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776.

Some of the first movements in American literature, philosophy, and education originated in New England. The region played a prominent role in the abolition movement and was the first region in the United States to be transformed by the Industrial Revolution. Today, New England is one of the world's major centers of education, high technology, insurance, and medicine. Boston is its cultural, financial, educational, medical and transportation center.

Each state is subdivided into small municipalities, known as New England cities, which are governed by city assemblies. Since 1970, more voters have supported liberal candidates at the state and federal levels than in any other region of the United States.

The New England Census Bureau is the only one of the nine U.S. Census Regional Bureaus whose name is not associated with its geographic location, and the only such entity with clearly defined boundaries. The entire region has a strong sense of cultural identity that distinguishes it from the rest of the country, although this is often disputed, due to the combination of puritanism with liberalism, agrarian life with industry, and isolation with immigration.

History

Indigenous people

The earliest known population of New England are the American Indians, who spoke the Eastern Algonquian languages. Known tribes are the Abenaki, Penobscot, Pequot, Mohican, Pocumtuk, and Wampanoag. Before the arrival of Europeans, the western Abenaki inhabited and, as well as part of Quebec and western Maine. Their center was Norridgewock in present-day Maine.

Over the next 100 years, the New England colonists had to fight six more wars, mostly against New France. New England's allies in these wars were the Iroquois, while New France's allies were the Wabanaki. After the New England conquest of Acadia (1710), it was turned into Nova Scotia under the control of New England, but at that time New Brunswick and almost all of modern Maine remained a disputed territory between New England and New France. After the victory of the British in the Seven Years' War (1763), the settlement region of Western New Hampshire was opened in the Connecticut River Valley, now.

New England farmers were becoming relatively self-reliant. Later, thanks to Puritan labor morality, trade and crafts began to develop in New England, in contrast to the Southern colonies, which imported the necessary goods from England.

Protectorate of England

Industrial Revolution

New England became a key region of the industrial revolution in the United States. On the north coast of the seaport of Beverly (Massachusetts) in 1787, the first, and later the largest, cotton mill in America appeared. Technological advances at the Beverly Manufactory have led to more modern textile mills, including the Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The Blackstone Valley in Massachusetts and Rhode Island has been nicknamed in America as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. The cities of Lawrence and Lowell (Massachusetts), Wansocket (Rhode Island), Lewiston (Maine) became the centers of the textile industry, based on the innovations of the Slater Mill and the Beverly cotton manufactory.

Geography

Golden Autumn in New England

The New England states cover an area of ​​71,991.8 square miles (186,458 km2), slightly larger than Washington State and larger than England. Maine makes up almost half of New England's total area, but is only 39th among the states by area, slightly smaller than Indiana. The rest of the states are among the smallest in the US, including the smallest state of Rhode Island.

Climate

Weather conditions vary by region. The climate of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont is humid with short mild summers and cold winters. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, southern Maine, southern New Hampshire, and Vermont have humid climates with long warm summers but also cold winters.

Autumn comes to New England earlier than in neighboring regions, and thanks to the dense deciduous forests, it paints it in bright colors, which attracts many tourists.

Average rainfall ranges from 40 to 60 inches (1000-1500 mm) per year, although northern Vermont and Maine are somewhat less, 510-1000 mm. Snow depth often exceeds 2.5 m, which makes the ski resorts of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont extremely attractive in winter.

The lowest temperature recorded in New England is -46°C (Bloomfield, Vermont, December 30, 1933). The smallest state of Rhode Island is the warmest in New England, the largest Maine is the coldest.

Largest cities

List of most populated cities based on census year. The population of the corresponding urban agglomeration is indicated in parentheses.

1. Boston: 617,594 (4,552,402)
2. Worcester, Massachusetts: 181,045 (798,552)

Modern England is often also called Britain, and it is this name that most suits the described country since ancient times. Because when Julius Caesar appeared on the shores of Foggy Albion (55 BC), the Britons lived here. These Celtic tribes inhabited modern England at the time when Caesar invaded these glorious lands, thus initiating the Roman phase of British history.

Therefore, we can say that the history of England actually began with captivity, which turned out to be a very contagious affair for the descendants of the Britons, who founded the British Empire several centuries later, uniting the lands of several continents.

Caesar and Britons, Picts and Scots

So, the era of Caesar, England, the history of the country at the very beginning. The Romans capture the entire southern territory of the island (now there are lands that make up the territories of England and Wales), which entered the Roman Empire and remained in it until the period of collapse (5th century AD).

And it was a time of intrigue and compromise Because inherently weak, the Britons nevertheless desired to be free. They did not want to "walk under the Romans", and as an alternative they turned to the German barbarians for help (the battle of the Roman legionnaires with the barbarian tribes is very plausibly recreated in the film "Gladiator").

However, as long as the Roman legions stood on the soil of England, the Germans could not take possession of new territories for them.

And only with the departure of the Romans (V-VI centuries), the barbarians managed not only to help the Britons (the chronicles of those years testify that it was they who interceded with the Germanic tribes to protect them from the ancestors of the Scots - the Picts and Scots - from the north), but and subsequently push the "natives" to Wales and Cornwall.

Egbert and Alfred the Great

In England of those years, aliens representing three groups of Germans were in charge - these were combat brigades of the Jutes, Saxons and Angles. On the territories taken from the Britons, they formed their own separate kingdoms.

In particular, the history of England keeps evidence of the existence of the Union of the Seven Kingdoms - the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy.

The kings were then called "Britwalds" (that is, the rulers of Britain). Most researchers believe that the history of this state, as a united kingdom, is associated with the name of one of these Britwalds named Egbert (date of birth unknown - 839). The fact is that when the Danish Vikings attacked the eastern lands of England, it was he who managed to rally the rest of the Britwalds around his kingdom of Wessex.

However, the truly "royal" history of England actually began two centuries later, when Alfred the Great (871-899) first coined the titled phrase "King of England". Some, however, tend to consider 1066 as the "zero point", when the Normans landed on the shores of England.

From William I to James I

Actually, from this date no unification followed. On the contrary, through the efforts of William I the Conqueror, the Franco-Norman order reigned in England. Wales was conquered and became an integral part of a single state in the 13th century. With Scotland, the unification took place much later, in 1707 (the so-called "Act of Union").

All this time, the future kingdom went through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance - to the time of Elizabeth I, the last of the Tudors. James I, who replaced her, was actually James VI, but not in England, but in Scotland. (Since English traditions provide for giving the serial number of the king, only on the basis of the presence or absence of such in the annals of Britain, and Yakovov did not know the history of the country before him, he was destined to become the first of them).

French trail and reformer kings

Britain's closest neighbor was France, which predetermined the most powerful influence of this country on the fate of all generations of the British. Even William the Conqueror, having made historical claims to the English throne, remained to rule French Normandy.

Yes, and his great-grandson Henry II Plantagenet had power over about half of the rulers of the French provinces, who were his vassals. It was to this king that the idea of ​​judicial reform belongs, from which the jury later formed.

Henry gave the throne to Richard I the Lionheart (1189-1199). It was the time of the Crusades. But his younger brother John Landless (1199-1216) took up the strengthening of the English coast from the appetites of the French monarch.

However, Philip-Augustus proved to be a more skilful master of warfare, and after 1214 Britain lost its influence over practically all French provinces. John, however, entered the history of England as the creator of the first constitution of this country (the Magna Carta law).

His son Henry III (1216-1272) also distinguished himself: he initiated the creation of the world's first parliament.

The accession of Wales also became famous for Edward I (1272-1307), who succeeded him.

Centralization, language reform

Despite the activity of the English kings, Scotland maintained its independence for many centuries. As a separate kingdom, this part of the British island was formed in the 9th-11th centuries. The Angles, Saxons and Jutes, already mentioned above, who settled in the southern part of Scotland, had a great influence on the established ethnic community.

Meanwhile, in England itself in the XII-XIII centuries, centralization continued, accompanied by the development of the economy and the growth of cities. The population was also consolidated, the history of the English ethnic community was a merger of the Angles, Saxons and Normans. At the same time, the language standard was formed..

Previously, commoners communicated with each other using the Anglo-Saxon language, and the royal society, nobles and nobility (as later in Russia) - in French. Now the London dialect, not without the influence of French, united the existing bilingualism. It must be emphasized that at present the British speak three main languages, adopted traditionally on the shores of the Foggy Albion.

This is, in fact, English, with which the vast majority of Britons communicate, as well as Welsh (every fourth Welsh uses it) and Gaelic.

The latter is used by about 60 thousand Scots, in fact, it is nothing more than the Gaelic language in its Scottish dialect form.

The Market, the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses

Serfdom was gradually pushed aside by the development of the wool industry, and with it, other sectors of the economy. A new type of relationship penetrated into the village - commodity-money, here sheep breeding developed by leaps and bounds. Feudalism thus dug its own grave already in the 15th century..

Meanwhile, the reign of Edward III (1327-1377) was marked by new British claims to the French throne.

As a result of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), the French fleet was sunk (1340), the Frogs' army was defeated at Crecy (1346), and their king himself was captured at Poitiers (1356). Thus, the history of Britain began a new countdown to English influence on the continent.

The fiasco at Agincourt (1415) forced the French monarch to leave his throne in favor of the reigning Henry V. However, wars never benefited the common people. If in England the revolt of Wat Tyler (1381) became a reaction to the Hundred Years War, then in France it became the cause of the feat of Joan of Arc, and Henry VI in 1453 was forced to leave the continent back to the island.

From the same time, the beginning of the war that the Lancasters and Yorks unleashed between themselves (Scarlet and White Roses) takes its countdown.

Beginning in 1455, she wiped out all the pretenders to the royal throne from both warring parties, clearing the way for the Tudors. And the new king of England, Henry VII (1485-1509), laid the foundation for the rule of the Tudor dynasty. And he not only ascended the throne, but, being a relative of the Lancasters, married a representative of the York dynasty. Since then, the enemies have reconciled, and both roses have reigned on the coat of arms of Henry VII.

Absolutism and gentry, Stuarts and Cromwell

The unlimited power of the king was laid down by Henry VII, and his descendant Henry VIII (1491-1547) reformed the church, declaring himself head of the Anglican Church. Edward VI (1537-1553) declared Protestantism the religion of England, the 16th century is also known for the emergence of new nobles - the gentry, from which the bourgeois later went.

The intensive seizure of peasant lands by them formed the basis for the emergence of capitalist relations.

The last of the Tudors, Elizabeth I (1533-1603), found himself without an heir, and it was James I, from whom the Stuarts ruled in England. Under him, the Protestants began to be pushed back by the Catholics, and his son Charles I (1625-1649) aggravated the confrontation with Parliament and, having brought the country to the Civil War, was executed by Cromwell's supporters. The latter, in just five years of his reign, annexed the lands of Scotland and Ireland to England, and from that time the history of the kingdom became united.

End of the Stuarts, bourgeois revolution

In the following decades, the monarchy triumphed (Charles II), in the 17th-19th centuries, two Tory and Whig parties, now traditional for England, were formed., and the Slavic Revolution (1688) marked the end of the Stuarts and the strengthening of the bourgeoisie.

It was the "Slavic" King William III of Orange who helped to strengthen the Tories and Whigs, as well as the press. At the same time, the history of the country's first Bank of England (1694) begins.

Under Anne Stewart, England and Scotland became inseparable (1707).

The bourgeois who came to actual power completed the formation of England as a nation.

The peasantry disappeared in the 18th century. By this time, in three wars, the British managed to break the onslaught of the Dutch, and the wars between England and France continued as the British Empire was created.

However, the Treaty of Versailles (1763) contributed to the civilized redistribution of the colonies between France, Britain and Spain. Australia becomes a state-scale colony (parliamentary laws of England 1768-1771).

In the 18th century, the era of Hanover contributes to the rise of Parliament as the ruling body of the state. The accession to the throne of 18-year-old Victoria (1837) marks the beginning of the longest reign in the history of England. By the same time, Britain becomes the most powerful world power..

Modern England

Today Britain, with 39 counties, is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

It is the second largest economy in Europe and the fifth in the world.. Tourism is widely developed here. The largest cities in England are London, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow. The population is almost 60 million people. The cost of living in England is still measured in pounds sterling, although the national currency is the euro.

THE ECONOMY OF THE GREAT BRITAIN ECONOMY IS THE 6TH PLACE AMONG THE WORLD'S ECONOMIES. AMONG EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, THE ECONOMY OF BRITAIN IS ON 2 POSITIONS AFTER GERMANY. THE LEADING ECONOMIC INDUSTRY OF MODERN GREAT BRITAIN IS THE SERVICE SECTOR. THE SECOND PLACE IS occupied by the INDUSTRIAL SECTORS, AMONG WHICH MINING AND MANUFACTURING TAKE LEADING POSITIONS IN PERFORMANCE OF GDP.

GOVERNMENT THE UK HAS A PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT BASED ON THE WESTMINSTER SYSTEM WHICH IS ALSO USED WORLDWIDE THE LEGACY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE'S PAST GLORITY. THE GREAT BRITAIN PARLIAMENT, SITTING IN THE PALACE OF WESTMINSTER, HAS TWO HOUSES: THE ELECTIVE HOUSE OF COMMONS AND THE APPOINTED HOUSE OF LORDS. ANY DOCUMENT ADOPTED REQUIRES QUEEN'S ASSURANCE TO BECOME LAW. PARLIAMENT IS THE MAIN LEGISLATIVE INSTITUTION OF THE UK

PRIME MINISTER THE POSITION OF PRIME MINISTER, THE HEAD OF GOVERNMENT OF THE UK, IS HELD BY A MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT WHO CAN GAIN THE SUPPORT OF A MAJORITY IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS, USUALLY THE CURRENT LEADER OF THE LARGEST POLITICAL PARTY IN THE HOUSE. FORMALLY THE PRIME MINISTER AND HIS CABINET ARE APPOINTED BY THE MONARCH TO FORM THE GOVERNMENT OF HER MAJESTY, HOWEVER THE PRIME MINISTER ASSEMBLE THE CABINET HIMSELF AND, BY TRADITION, THE QUEEN RESPECTS THE PRIME MINISTER'S CHOICE

THE ROYAL FAMILY THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY A GROUP OF CLOSE RELATIVES OF THE MONARCH OF THE GREAT BRITAIN. IN 1917, GEORGE V, BECAUSE OF THE WAR WITH GERMANY, renounced ALL GERMAN TITLES FOR HIMSELF AND HEIRS AND RENAMED THE SAXENKOBURG-GOTH DYNASTY THE HOUSE OF WINDSORS. MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY HAVE THE TITLE OF THEIR ROYAL MAJESTIES AND THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES. TODAY THEY PERFORM CEREMONIAL AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONS BOTH IN THE UK AND ABROAD AND EXCEPT THE MONARCH HAVE NO CONSTITUTIONAL ROLE IN GOVERNMENT BUSINESS.

THE UK ARMED FORCES THE UK HAS ONE OF THE MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED AND TRAINED ARMIES IN THE WORLD AND AS OF 2008 HAS ABOUT 20 MILITARY BASES WORLDWIDE. ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT SOURCES, THE BRITAIN HAS THE WORLD'S THIRD OR FOURTH MILITARY EXPENDITURES, ALTHOUGH IT IS ONLY THE 27TH PLACE IN TROOPS. TOTAL MILITARY EXPENDITURE IS APPROXIMATELY 2.5% OF THE COUNTRY'S GDP

THE UK ECONOMY HAS A PARTIALLY REGULATED MARKET ECONOMY. CALCULATED BY MARKET EXCHANGE RATES, THE UK IS THE SIXTH LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD AND THE SECOND IN EUROPE AFTER GERMANY. HER MAJESTY'S TREASURY, HEADED BY THE CHANCELLOR, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC POLICY BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. BANK OF ENGLAND THE CENTRAL BANK OF THE UK AND RESPONSIBLE FOR THE NATIONAL CURRENCY POUNDS STERLING. Bank of England, the central bank of Great Britain.

10 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS THE GREAT BRITAIN IS A PERMANENT MEMBER OF THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL, A MEMBER OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS, G8, G20, NATO, OECD, WTO, COUNCIL OF EUROPE, OSCE. THE UK HAS A "SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP" WITH THE US AND A CLOSE PARTNERSHIP WITH FRANCE, A "CORDINATE AGREEMENT" AND ALSO SHARE A COMMON NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM WITH THESE TWO COUNTRIES. OTHER CLOSE ALLIES INCLUDES OTHER EU AND NATO AND COMMONWEALTH MEMBERS AND JAPAN. BRITAIN'S GLOBAL PRESENCE AND INFLUENCE IS ALSO INCREASED THANKS TO TRADE RELATIONS, FOREIGN INVESTMENT, OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT AID AND MILITARY POWER.

Where does England begin?

For me personally, England began with a crazy downpour, which she met us at the exit of the airport! It was late evening, it was dark, cold and damp around. For some reason, I immediately concluded that this is the kind of weather that is typical for the entire United Kingdom, and that it rains here around the clock. Moreover, England is famous for its fogs and constant rains. However, the next morning turned out to be completely different - the sun came out, and everything suddenly took on an unusually elegant look. There was a feeling of lightness and hospitality.

Readers probably have a question: why England, when Egypt, Turkey and Thailand are considered to be the most popular tourist destinations today? I’ll explain right away that we were in this country together with my husband Andrey: he is on duty, I am for the company.

We were in Britain at the end of July - beginning of August, and all three weeks of our vacation the weather changed regularly: there were both cold and rainy days, and stuffy, with a thirty-degree heat. Although in general the summer months are considered the most favorable in England for walking, traveling and sightseeing.

Like the best houses in London

Architecture in England is as varied and unpredictable as the weather. There is no single style in it, it consists of an eclectic variety of architectural styles. At least we came to this conclusion after walking around London and several small towns. There are both medieval cathedrals and new modern buildings, but they all harmonize in some strange way with each other. The building is quite dense, but at the same time, creativity is manifested everywhere - you will not see piles of gray high-rise buildings, as in Russia, here.

Take, for example, the London City Hall. We are accustomed to the fact that buildings like city hall are boring offices in which boring officials sit and do boring paperwork. From the outside, such buildings usually resemble huge stone or glass boxes, in which, for greater importance, some kind of stone portal is sometimes arranged so that the visitor from the very entrance feels awe before the grandeur of the city government. And here - some uncut glass watermelon! The mayor of Greater London, Ken Livingston, invited one of the most famous British architects to work on the project of this building. They agreed that the building would prove with all its appearance: London officials are not alien to a penchant for originality and humor, and municipal work is a living thing, not a dead one.

As for ordinary Englishmen, they live mainly in townhouses, their houses are often similar. And you will never guess from them which family lives in this house - low-income or wealthy. However, in some settlements we were amused by the tradition of residents to give names to their houses. So, we met the "Blue House", "Black House" and a house with the name "Lagoon of Rocks". Some call their home their own last name. And then it sounds like this: "Adamson House." Or so: "House of Milton."

The British have developed a love for beauty, or rather, for landscape design: even if there is a couple of square meters in front of the house, they will certainly make a pretty garden out of it with well-groomed flower beds.

Almost in front of every house there is a hedge of trimmed shrubs. Behind the house there is usually a garden with trees, compensating for their lack on city streets.

Unfortunately, we never managed to find out how people live in “the best houses in London”: my husband and I rented a simple apartment in the center of London. The most important and romantic thing in our English "house" was a real fireplace. English architects have an immutable rule: every homeowner has the right to a fireplace. On the roofs of townhouses and high-rise buildings, you will see as many pipes as there are apartments in the building.

We paid 300 pounds for each week of renting an apartment. (15 thousand rubles in Russian money!) This was considered an excellent option.

English cuisine does not exist!

There is no such thing as "English cuisine". The British love the cuisines of the numerous peoples of the world. Both Indian and Japanese cuisines are in demand here, but oatmeal for breakfast has become less popular.

An English breakfast is another typical stereotype that comes to mind in connection with a trip to England. In our opinion, before a trip to England, an English breakfast should have included oatmeal, white bread toast and, of course, a cup of fragrant English breakfast tea. Justifying the expectations of tourists, "real english breakfast" is part of English cities.

The "real English breakfast" includes sausage, fried bacon, canned beans, fried eggs, fried toast. Yes, and another obligatory component of a real English breakfast is fried champignons. Not everyone is able to eat such a heavy and hearty breakfast in the morning as the British eat. The tradition of eating very high-calorie food in the morning appeared several hundred years ago, when workers who did not have the opportunity to have lunch tried to get enough for future use before starting a hard day's work.

Also of note is the traditional English tea party, an event that belongs more to the field of etiquette than to the culinary field. This is "afternoon tea" - the one that is known in all languages ​​​​of the world as "fife-o-clock" and which the British cannot miss!

Our English walks

During the days of our stay in London, we proceeded, if not all of it, then exactly half of it. We were impressed by the overall cleanliness. In the city center near St. Paul's Cathedral there are many office buildings (City area). People who many jokingly call “office plankton” literally hundreds go out during their lunch break. They are located right on the stairs or on the lawns near the Cathedral. At the same time, someone eats bought takeaway food, someone reads, someone talks on the phone, someone just sunbathe on the grass on infrequent sunny days.

Near an office building in Chelyabinsk, for example, we are used to seeing parking lots and smoking people. You don't see that in London. Firstly, the entry of cars into the city center is limited, and secondly, special places are reserved for smokers.

Once we saw a man sleeping on a bench in one of the parks. He was well dressed and completely sober. He was just relaxing! The British have a completely different worldview than we do. Needless to say, even English squirrels have a different perception! Imagine, they calmly rush not only along the paths in the parks, but also along the resting people. We observed the following picture: a man was sitting on a bench in the park and reading a newspaper, a squirrel climbed up his leg. He slowly took the reading away from his face, looked imposingly at the animal ... and continued reading.

Huge fines are provided for garbage on lawns - from 60 to 80 pounds. Everywhere you can find signs saying that pet owners must clean up after their pets.

In three weeks, we visited almost all the famous sights of London - the Palace of Westminster, Big Ben, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Albert Hall, Hyde Park ... All of the above places you can sign up for excursions, they cost about 20 pounds.

How we got to the Olympics

Last summer London hosted the 30th Summer Olympic Games. We decided: why not take advantage of this? And spontaneously bought tickets for women's volleyball!

None of the fans who came knew who and with whom would play. Imagine our surprise when we learned about the layout: Russia - Britain! When the English women scored ours, our Canadian neighbor turned to us and apologized: “Sorry!” But Russia won, with a score of 3:0. We were so proud of the victory of our compatriots that we didn’t even stay for the second game between Italy and the Dominican Republic, but went to celebrate the victory of our team!

I would like to note the excellent organization of the Olympic Games, when volunteers stood in the city center at every metro station, bus stop, at all train stations and airports and helped every tourist with questions about the Olympics, and on completely abstract issues. There were many live broadcasts around the city, and the stadiums where the games were played had a very strong security system.

Complexes and customs of the British

The British, as it seemed to us, are incredibly notorious people. Too polite and quite closed. They will say one thing and think something completely different. In England, there is a rule of "non-interference in private life", the British tell about their personal affairs only to the closest people, so the British at secular parties are very fond of "secretly about someone from the general environment", in other words, gossip.

At the same time, they know how to have fun, that's for sure! It is worth noting that the British are very fond of joking and are happy to practice wit. Of course, they are very proud of their subtle humor, bordering on irony. They make a feast out of every event. You can meet at one in the morning in a bar dancing grandparents, right there their children and grandchildren. Families have fun in pubs. At least for Friday. For the British, Friday and Saturday are like a city day for us, that is, they pass on about the same scale. We met our first Friday in Britain in the small town of Leeds. And they were terribly surprised by what they saw: people moved through the streets in real crowds, shoulder to shoulder, all drunk, dressed up. The pubs were packed to capacity.

A funny little thing - it is not customary for the British to dry their umbrellas open. The British say “Bad varnish!” and ask to dry umbrellas closed.

If we continue talking about the customs of the British, then the most "entertaining topic" in England is the queue. You line up everywhere you go. Even at the bus stop. We saw how one day, while waiting for a bus route, one man, quite by chance, apparently in thought, walked around the woman in front of whom he was standing. How did he apologize? It seemed that his embarrassment knew no bounds!

Treat everyone!

By the way, in England pubs are not just a place where they gather to drink beer, but also a meeting place. And everyone walks together - each member of the company goes and buys beer to all his friends. Thus, during the meeting, everyone is “put down”. Everyone will drink as many glasses of beer as there are people. Someone may try to evade the general fun, but everyone will sit and silently blame him. It is the same in offices during weekdays: usually the one who goes for coffee or tea prepares drinks for all colleagues - this is the custom in any team!

McEwan masterfully combines a laconic narrative style with an unpredictable ending. At the center of his story are two friends, the editor of a popular newspaper, and the composer composing the Millennium Symphony. True, almost nothing remained of their friendship, only hidden anger and resentment. It is worth reading to find out how the confrontation of the old comrades ended.

In this selection, we have included the writer's most English novel, in which he tries to explain what good old England is. Events unfold on the attraction island of Wight, where all sorts of stereotypes about the country are collected: the monarchy, Robin Hood, The Beatles, beer ... Indeed, why do tourists need modern England if there is a miniature copy that combines all the most interesting things?

A romance about the love of 19th-century Victorian poets that is intertwined with the history of modern scientists. A book for the intellectual reader who will enjoy the rich language, classic plots and numerous allusions to cultural and historical phenomena.

Coe has been composing jazz music for a long time, which is reflected in his literary work. "What a swindle!" akin to improvisation, this is a bold and unexpected novel.

Michael, a mediocre writer, is given the opportunity to tell the story of the wealthy and highly influential Winshaw family. The problem is that these greedy relatives, who have taken over all spheres of public life, poison the lives of other people and do not arouse sympathy.

If you've watched Cloud Atlas, then you should know that David Mitchell came up with this incredible convoluted story. But today we recommend that you start reading another, no less interesting novel.

"Dream No. 9" is often compared to the best works. Eiji, a young boy, comes to Tokyo in search of his father, whom he has never seen. For eight weeks in the metropolis, he managed to find love, fall into the clutches of the yakuza, make peace with his alcoholic mother, find friends ... You have to figure out for yourself what happened in reality and what happened in a dream.

"Tennis balls of heaven" - a modern version of "The Count of Monte Cristo", supplemented with new details and meanings. Although the plot is known to us, it is simply impossible to stop reading.

The protagonist is a student Ned Maddstone, whose life is going better than ever. He is handsome, smart, rich, educated, from a good family. But because of the stupid joke of envious comrades, his whole life changes dramatically. Ned finds himself locked in a psychiatric hospital, where he lives with only one goal - to get out in order to take revenge.

A novel about the life of 30-year-old Bridget Jones is popular all over the world. Thanks in part to a Hollywood film adaptation starring Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth. But by and large because of the eccentric and so charming Bridget. She counts calories, tries to quit smoking and drink less, experiences setbacks in her personal life, but still looks to the future with optimism and believes in love.

There are books to which you forgive the simplicity of the plot, and the banality of the scenes, and stupid coincidences, simply because they have soulfulness. "Bridget Jones's Diary" is that rare case.

The story of the boy with the scar is a real cultural phenomenon. The first book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was rejected by 12 publishers, and only a small Bloomsbury decided to publish it at its own peril and risk. And it didn't fail. "" was a resounding success, and Rowling herself was the love of readers around the world.

Against the backdrop of magic and sorcery, we are talking about familiar and important things - friendship, honesty, courage, readiness to help and resist evil. Therefore, the fictional world of Rowling captivates readers of any age.

The Collector is John Fowles' most frightening yet gripping novel. The protagonist Frederick Clegg loves to collect butterflies, but at some point he decides to add the cute girl Miranda to his collection. We learn this story from the words of the kidnapper and from the diary of his victim.