Bill Bryson | Granta Magazine

Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson’s books include A Walk in the Woods (Black Swan/Broadway Books), Notes From A Small Island (Black Swan/Avon), Mother Tongue (Penguin/Avon) and A Short History of Nearly Everything (Black Swan/Broadway Books). He was born in Des Moines, Iowa and lived in England for over twenty years.

Bill Bryson on Granta.com

Essays & Memoir | Issue 31 padlock
Essays & Memoir | Issue 31 padlock

North of North

Bill Bryson

‘I had also long harboured a curious, half-formed urge to see what life was like in such a remote and cheerless place.’

Essays & Memoir | Issue 31 padlock
Essays & Memoir | Issue 31 padlock

More Fat Girls in Des Moines

Bill Bryson

‘I didn't really expect my grandparents to be waiting for me at the gate, on account of them both having been dead for many years.’

Essays & Memoir | Issue 31 padlock
Essays & Memoir | Issue 31 padlock

Fat Girls in Des Moines

Bill Bryson

‘When I was growing up I used to think that the best thing about coming from Des Moines was that it meant you didn't come from anywhere else in Iowa. By Iowa standards, Des Moines is a Mecca of cosmopolitanism, a dynamic hub of wealth and education, where people wear three-piece suits and dark socks, often simultaneously.’

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