The Invention of Essex: The Making of an English County

by Tim Burrows

Essex. A county both famous and infamous: the stuff of tabloid headlines and reality television, consumer culture and right-wing politicians. England's dark id.

But beyond the sensationalist headlines lies a strange and secret place with a rich history: of smugglers and private islands, artists and radicals, myths and legends. It's where the Peasants' Revolt began and the Empire Windrush docked. And - from political movements like Brexit to cultural events like TOWIE - where Essex leads, the rest of us often follow.

Deeply researched and thoroughly engaging, The Invention of Essex shows that there is more to this fabled English county than meets the eye.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Ebooks

326 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2023

Reviews

[Violet Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always loved Essex and been a staunch defender of it. It's not only the place I live now, but where I was born. Hence, why this book appealed to me so much.

The Invention of Essex is a mix of memoir, history, nature writing and social commentary that eloquently sums up the Essex we know today and why it has become entrenched in so many misconceptions.

Beautifully written and endlessly enlightening, this is one to read for locals and people beyond to truly get to what underpins the often unrepresented county.

[Abby Schofield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good but would have loved more north Essex history! Need a sequel

[Martin Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's bits I really liked. I found the political sermons overly preachy and annoying, same as the search for an ending to be all meaningful. But overall a fun read about my home.

[Jonathan Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific, insightful and thought provoking. As a Colchester lad a tiny bit disappointed we spend a lot of time in Thurrock, Basildon and Southend but essential for anybody interested in Englands most misunderstood county

[Michelle Le Grand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely well researched and an interesting read. However this book seemed to concentrate too much on Southend and the surrounding area for me. I enjoyed the epilogue best - not sure if the author writes fiction but maybe he should.

[Alice Wolfenden · Rating 5 out of 5]

My whole dissertation is based off this book it’s amazing

[Dangerfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and wide-ranging book. Early chapters had a bit much name-dropping and statistics but as he got into his subject, it became more and more interesting. Chapter 11 a criticism of both Conservative and Labour governments and councillors revealed his Guardian credentials and his belief in social enterprise: a good conclusion to my mind. Unlike most books, it is worth paging to the end and reading the acknowledgements; unique.

[Jo Wilkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, rich with history, biography and recent iconography. I knew very little about Essex but now I’m inspired to read some more local (to me) history. I could imagine the places and landscapes in this book, having done a lot of cycling around Essex over lockdown and more recently. Look forward to reading more from this author.

[Ali Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book for Essex People, those who wonder how come?
I read this book after reading Chavs the demonisation of the working class. They are a great book duo.
As a 1960’s born Essex Girl, I have learned so much by reading both books.
Essex Girls hold your heads up high … Essex folk we have a unique history and much to be proud of.

[Alan Fricker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ticked all my boxes - Essex, history, landscape, music, politics, social history and on. Great read

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book, hoping laying to rest the lazy stereotypes heaped upon Essex.

[Nailya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This non-fiction blend of history, political journalism, and nature writing is the best book I've read this year so far. Tim Burrows traces both the construction of Essex in British media and culture for the past hundred years and the reality behind that picture. Burrows, a left-leanung journalist, is very clear about his own background (Southend to London and back) and his views (liberal but eager to explain why Essex upon the whole swung to the right). Each chapter follows a specific aspect of the story of Essex - immigration, environmental issues, the figure of the 'Essex Man' and 'Essex Girl' - to present an overarching thesis: Essex is a deeply misunderstood and contradictory county, and the problems of Essex reflect the problems of the country as a whole. Burrows did a tremendous amount of research, reading plenty of secondary sources, including recent books on Essex and seventeenth century travel accounts, various state and NGO reports, and plenty of novels, plays, films and reality shows. He also conducted a formidable amount of interviews with all sorts of people, from former gangsters and musicians to politicians and people working in the beauty industry.

There is room for improvement. Burrows examines immigration and diversity in the largely white Essex, but he rarely interviews people of colour. It would have been very interesting to see how people of colour feel about and fit into the 'Essex Man/Essex Girl' story, or how they interact with the aspirational property narrative. Former Essex areas in London (Ilford, Romford) are incredibly diverse, and many of their inhabitants identify with Essex and its aspirations. In this book, all people of colour are relegated to the 'Immigration' chapter, which basically focuses on why Essex is racist. There is more to diversity in Essex than examination of white supremacy. My other issue was that although the book covers 'new' Essex areas and 'old' rural Essex, we hear very little about non-London urban areas, especially Colchester. How does Colchester, with its long history of both racism and immigration (think Dutch quarter) fit into the Essex story?

Although sensitive to race, Burrows focuses on class as the defining characteristic of British society. Interviewing both white and non-white people would have strengthened the central thesis of the book, as it would have demonstrated the similarities between white and non-white inhabitants of Essex and former Essex areas of London, and their relationship with the concept of class and their experiences of class in modern Britain. Overall, however, I would really recommend this book. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about Essex and anyone who wants to learn more about modern Britain. I dare suggest that someone who has not grown up in the UK (I myself am a prime example of this) and had primarily lived in one area of the country since, would benefit from reading this book and understanding the country as a whole more deeply.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

More holiday homework... and I'll have you know I am paying a third less than he says it costs... phew!

I think of myself as living in a particularly large and geographically diverse county but there's a lot of Essex and it is in some ways geographically diverse, despite its flatness. And even more, it is a county - and a population - that looms even larger in the national consciousness and this book is a musing investigation of how that came to be. It's not somewhere I know at all well, but somehow my few visits are remarkably vivid episodes.

It's often rather obvious from the style that a book is by a journalist, and this one, it is made clear, has been worked up from articles. But somehow that's not how he felt. I enjoyed too what might frustrate others - it's not linear, it's not a quest, it's not even a love letter. You could say that his return to Southend with his young family crystallised it all into book form, but it is clear he (and his wife) had been poking about their home county whilst still living in London.

I am helped by sharing political perspectives with the author, which does not align with the stereotypical Essex view, but whatever you think, this is one of the important things about the book and what the county has to tell us, even if you have emphatically no intention of visiting (a position which has been taken by many down the ages, as outlined here) A cautionary tale, if you like.

I feel it misses some opportunities and seems a little too uncritical of New Town planning (where it discusses some seriously dodgy plans to regenerate centres)

So many lovely or shocking touches - from the couple's choice of 'aisle' to walk down to the horrific immersion of a keen young fisherman.

[Karen Mace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may be biased being from Essex and living here all my life, but I loved this! I found it to be a stimulating and fascinating look at the county beyond the stereotypes that are so often thrown our way!

The author moved back to Southend from London, and this book explores the different aspects of the county that often raised a wry smile from me as I felt so connected to the areas he was discussing and researching. It's full of fascinating facts alongside opinion and I found myself learning so much about the county!

It explores the misrepresentation of the county through stereotypes that are often so negative and play that off amidst the backdrop of the positives and how it has evolved as a county over the years - the London overspill in particular after the Second World War. And it also looks at how it's a county of differences from the rural to the densely populated and what impact that has played on the role the county plays.

Looking also at the music, politics, the wildlife, nature and the darker aspects of murder and the drug scene, it's a really good insight into the variety that Essex has to offer. Recognising so many of the areas explored by the author also made it feel so much more personal and it's a book I'm going to enjoy reading again!

[Laura Latham · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5

What a book: this will transport you from the start of the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, to the opening of Southend Pier for London's day trippers in 1889, to that infamous photo of Essex beaches mid-Covid filled with sunbathers. This examines Essex from all angles - including the usual unsightly ones: the Brexiteers, the landfill sites, the deterioration of new towns built for London overspill post-WW2. And yet it is a love letter to Essex for its defiance against changing politics, the rare few who are standing up to protect it's geography & history, and clear sympathy for those who were pushed out of the East End into a county which garnered little respect.
As someone who grew up between Basildon & Southend, I did find this really interesting: it's given me a new perspective on the area I spent 14 years living in, and I wonder if I were to return to it now how I'd feel. I did feel like this lacked some more North Essex history: this focused more on the band of Essex around the M25, stretching along the estuary to Foulness Island.
It's a difficult book to recommend as it's so niche, but if you do have some local link to the area & aren't afraid of a beefy non-fic then it's definitely worth a read!

[John Oswald · Rating 4 out of 5]

If - like me - you’re a “blow-in” to Essex and struggle to understand why it’s never considered a Home County, or have a half memory of all manner of sexist/classist tropes about the place, then this is the perfect book. Burrows is a returnee to Southend-on-Sea after years in London and has the perspective on life out here borne of being on the receiving end of cliche. He’s written a terrific, practically Barthesian, account of how the idea of Essex has been slowly invented and drip-fed into popular culture. Never conspiratorial but always sharp and witty. Where the excellent @gmdarley seeks to demonstrate that Essex is just as rich in culture and history as anywhere else in the UK, Burrows seeks to show just how myths and tropes of Essex and Essex life have been consciously created and reinforced. A great read, and not just for the locals. His memories of the 90s are fantastic (you’ll recall a lot of this if you’re the right age); his account of Essex’s complex relationship with London is very revealing. Thank you @timoburrows - excellent job.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is obviously a parochial book. It's about a single English county and I doubt many would pick it off the shelf if they weren't from or in Essex. It's actually even more parochial than the title suggests because for most of the book, Burrows is really concerned with South Essex and the county's new towns, a few of which (like Harlow and South Woodham Ferrers) are a bit beyond the strip of land by the Thames. That said, it touches on themes that are far wider than this corner of East England - housing issue, de-industrialisation, nimbyism, escape from the city, environmentalism. It's not a guidebook and it covers only a small but very significant part of the Essex story (from the early twentieth century) but what he does write is of wider relevance. He writes well and he's opinionated enough to keep you interested in his book for most of the team. And he captures well the atmosphere of marshland Essex, which he so obviously loves.

[Tom Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting read, a mix of history, politics and even some science! I did however find some parts of it much more interesting than others, and there are some surprising things missing - for example, Colchester was the capital of England in Roman times and that (as far as I can remember) is completely un-mentioned. Events like the mildly well-known "Battle of Brightlingsea" protests are nowhere to be found, and I'd have liked a section on sports (being a Colchester United supporter!) I also thought the author referred to himself and his own life a little bit too often and spent far too much time on the area surrounding the London borders. Although to be fair, what is included is well researched and effectively explained and if the point of this book was to make Essex sound interesting, then it does succeed at that

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by a young journalist from the area, this book is a history/contemporary reflection on the county of Essex, to the east of London. There were some really interesting parts of the book, but the author seemed to jump from topic to topic without much of a transition. Also, the author didn't develop much of the history, such as Essex's hosting of many factories and working class Britons. He mentions that Essex was both the home of the greatest support for xenophobic, populist politicians, and of the main politicians who campaigned against populist xenophobia. However, he never develops this idea in depth. He mostly talks about how Essex is currently the home of many British reality television stars. This is OK, but wasn't really that interesting to me.

[Patricia O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having lived in the place since childhood - and explored most of it, I did resonate with his depiction of this weird county. All aspects, historic and cultural, are covered with plenty of decent background research, though it has to be said, a lot of what the book contains is opinion, and plenty more is hearsay. But everything is recognisable through Burrows excellent descriptions and I do agree with him about the devastating effects the government (both at local and national level) has had on our county. A sad book in many ways, but the epilogue chapter offers something of a silver lining, that hope 'springs' eternal.

[Ruth Gwinnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well -researched & Informative

This book outlines the history of Essex in a very accessible way from an insider's perspective, with roots on both sides of his and his wife's family.
An engrossing and entertaining book.

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this exploration into the history of Essex. A very pleasant and raw description of the county which does a splendid job of highlighting some of the beautiful parts of the natural landscape!

[Benjamin Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book a mixture of old influential figures from the peasants revolt to important Victorian benefactors to todays cult celebrities with a nice serene imagery of the Essex landscape mixed in makes for an enjoyable nostalgic read

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the first half of the book, that might be because I grew up around southend and I'm roughly the same age as the author 😀

Felt it lost its way towards the end though, really good read would recommend for people who want to know more about essex :)

[Neil Titterington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable and educational meditation on my home county. I'm now.piving on the other side of the world but this book captivated me back to the place I grew up with some relatable and wistful portrayals of a much-maligned and misunderstood county. Thanks Tim! 😊

[Lincoln Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well researched and written book about Essex, but perhaps the title would have been better as ‘The Invention of South Essex with cursory forays into the North’. Admittedly that’s something of a mouthful, but at least there is scope for more in a future edition?

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. Lots of names and places remembered from growing up.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being in my 60's and born in Leigh-on-sea some great reminders of my youth but also history i never knew

[Kevin Sharpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not twaddle

[Lisa Friel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting facts although a bit over-wordy and repetitive - felt like it needed editing down!