When Annette Dittert stood in front of Downing Street at midnight on January 31, 2020, to report live on ARD’s *Tagesthemen* that Brexit had finally taken effect that night, tears suddenly welled up in her eyes just before she went on air. London had long since become her home. Now the break with the EU was irreversible. For her and many Britons who had hoped for a different outcome right up until the end, it was a somber day. 

Now, years later, Annette Dittert wonders what has become of the country. And in her book *Dear Britain—In Search of the Soul of Great Britain*, she takes us on a journey across the island: We visit the Royal Albert Hall and the House of Lords, swim in the ocean with the women’s group “Blue Tits,” and chat with Scottish women, priests, and earls. And we’re guests of the author on her narrowboat Emilia, a small, colorful steel boat on Regent’s Canal, right in the heart of London. The result is a multifaceted portrait of the quirky and charming British people, whose precarious economic and social situation—not only as a result of Brexit—is palpable in everyday life, yet who always maintain their composure.

Annette Dittert served as a foreign correspondent for ARD from 1999 until the end of 2025. She is a passionate journalist and filmmaker. She has received two Grimme Awards for her films, and in 2019 she was named Political Journalist of the Year for her coverage of Brexit. She lives in London on her houseboat, Emilia.