"One of the most authentic books ever written about the English....Funny, touching and so real that the smell and taste of London seem to rise from its pages." -- San Francisco Chronicle

"A magnificent book, quite staggering in its penetration of the ordinary working-class Londoner's nature." -- Cyril Dunn, Washington Post

"Eloquent...Wry and ribald...[Lessing's] impressive gifts for characterization and dialogue, her skill as a raconteur and her tartly humorous style combine to make In Pursuit of the English readable and amusing." -- New York Times

"No other writer, from any continent, has this raceless, classless fellowship combined with total physical receptiveness. . . . Lessing has always been more than a regional moral messenger; she is a prospector into the minds, spirit and senses of all, imaginatively at home anywhere." -- The Times (London)