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Book Info

My Love Affair with England: A Traveler’s Memoir by Susan Allen Toth (1992)

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Travel

LibraryThing: https://www.librarything.com/work/56906/

Acquired from: Capitol Hill Books, Denver, Colorado, USA ($7.50) [see also: Indie Bookstore Visit Log]

Started reading: October 31, 2025

Finished reading: November 4, 2025

Review

I picked this up because I nearly bought it from a UBS in Milwaukee a few months ago. It caught my eye again, mostly because I’m planning to go to England for a few months next year AND I adore pre-internet travel memoirs, so I decided to get it!

It’s a very charming book which focuses mostly on the bits of England that the author enjoyed, mixed in with some memoir-type stuff about her personal life and how it intersected with her visits to England and how that affected her time there. I enjoyed reading about the specific things she likes, as you can tell she REALLY likes them– but not to the point where it sounds like ass-kissing.

I also liked that she said specifically she only likes visiting and doesn’t want to move there; often I find that actually living somewhere is way different than being a visitor, often to the location’s detriment because now you have to deal with things like sorting trash and paying electricity bills, when really what you want to do is wander around looking at old buildings and eating bacon sandwiches.

Having been to England myself several times I recognized a lot of the stuff she was talking about, and that was fun, too. Overall I really enjoyed this book!

Reading Notes

Page 9:

I do not blame the English. If they keep to themselves, I also keep to myself. At home in America, I guard my privacy, cherishing the easy and congenial company of my husband or quiet time alone. When I am in England, I need even more meditative space. Since I travel quite intensely, looking and listening and walking hard, at night I am ready to stop. I have to absorb what I experience and gather my energies for the next day. I want to sink into bed with a book, not traipse down to the pub to talk about politics or football. So I do not usually make social overtures.

Same!!

Crossposted from Pixietails Club Blog.