A Yank Back to England: The Prodigal Tourist Returns

Denis Lipman left London’s East End for Washington, DC more than 20 years ago, but made an annual pilgrimage year after year to visit aging parents, a pair of cantankerous, real-life Cockneys. He endured the visits as best he could. Enter an American wife. Not content with a grin-and-bear-it attitude, she declares that since each year’s trip to England was inevitable, it was to be enjoyed: see the sites, taste the culture, go places! Against his will, our expat becomes a tourist in his homeland and comes to discover it’s not so bad after all. Through new eyes, England is certainly better than he remembered! Enjoy a travel memoir more carbolic than bucolic. Discover a place where the sun rarely shines, where electricity is coin-operated, and where canned beans on toast is a cornerstone of cuisine. Taste the real East End and tour with a colorful, combative and fundamentally affectionate family as they rent cottages, host outrageous relatives, meet the locals and discover the English countryside.