bourbiza mohamed
CULTURE
THE INVENTION OF ESSEX: THE MAKING OF AN ENGLISH COUNTY
by Tim Burrows (Profile £16.99, 336pp)
What’s the difference between an Essex girl and a supermarket trolley? Answer: the trolley has a mind of its own.
As Essex girl jokes go, Tim Burrows could have been far crueller in his choice of example. But either way, as his book about the county shows, the girls themselves won’t mind — Essex residents have been shrugging off criticism for a very long time.
Essex girl: Towie’s Gemma Collins, pictured in 2018, has become a household name across the country
In 1700, a clergyman…
