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Book SynopsisWhen an American woman and her British husband decide to buy a two-hundred-year-old cottage in the heart of the ;Cotswolds, they're hoping for an escape from their ;London ;lives. Instead, their decision about whether or not to have a child plays out against a ;backdrop of village ;fêtes, rural rambles, and a cast of eccentrics clad in corduroy and tweed. ; Americashire: A Field Guide to a Marriage ;begins with the simultaneous ;purchase of a ;Cotswold cottage and Richardson's ill-advised decision to tell her grandchild-hungry parents that she is going to try to have a baby. As she transitions from urban to rural life, she is forced to confront both her ambivalence about the idea of motherhood and the reality of living with a spouse who sees the world as a glass half-full. Part memoir, part travelogue - and including field guides to narrative-related Cotswold ;walks - ;Americashire ;is a candid, humorous tale of marriage, illness, and big life decisions. ;Table of Contents Contents Part One: Weekender Pink Foil Strips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 A House with a Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Fairs and F.tes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Irish Nachos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The £400 Fruitcake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Field Guide Number One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Rural Retail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Horse Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 The Strange Customs of the English at Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Field Guide Number Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 New Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 The Mistress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 The Cotswold Cult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Autumn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Gluttony in Gloucestershire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Checkpoint Charlie with Palm Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Part Two: In Residence New Job, New Nemesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Communion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Field Guide Number Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Cockaleekie, Neeps, and Tatties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Sunday Lunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 The Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Big Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 The Grand National . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Les Ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 This Little Piggy Went to Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 The Game Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 The Not-So-Simple Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Field Guide Number Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

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