AUTHOR'S BOOKS CELEBRATE HER LOVE AFFAIR WITH ENGLAND.

Byline: Susanne Hopkins Daily News Travel Editor

Mention England to Susan Allen Toth and she fairly bursts with delight. Her eyes twinkle, her mouth creases into a broad smile, and she can barely rein in the torrent of words that threatens to tumble out.

Which explains why she's already written two books on the country - ``My Love Affair With England: A Traveler's Memoir'' (Ballantine; $10) and her most recent, ``England as You Like It: An Independent Traveler's Companion'' (Ballantine; $12). A third, tentatively titled ``England for Pleasure,'' also by Ballantine, is scheduled to be released next year.

Salted liberally with travel information and advice, Toth's books take the reader on pleasurable rambles through England with her and her husband, James Stageberg. Her style is warm and witty - ``the print equivalent of a nice cup of tea,'' says Publisher's Weekly.

But it is her great passion for the place that so captivates. Toth has been an Anglophile since 1960, when she first visited England as a college student. She's since been back 25 times.

``There's something inexplicable about why someone loves one place rather than another,'' she muses. ``I love Venice; I don't like Rome. I love Amsterdam; I don't like Brussels. I love Paris, but I feel more at home in London.''

She ticks off the joys of England: Its history, the countryside's tempting walking paths and London's ``accessibility, its openness, its great theaters and wonderful museums. And it's a great place to walk.''

There is so much to see in England that although she has long been a student of literature (Toth holds her doctorate in American literature and is an adjunct professor at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn.), ``I still haven't looked up Thomas Hardy's cottage.''

She and Stageberg travel there two or three times a year, staying each time for at least two weeks.

``I just simply get lonesome for England and start planning when we can go again,'' Toth says about their frequent trips.

While they have visited other areas as well - Italy is another favorite and they spent April in Venice - they always come back to England (they'll return in July). With each trip, Toth further hones her travel skills. And the way she likes to travel, she is quick to admit, bears little resemblance to the advice of most guidebooks.

She does extensive planning. ``To travel spontaneously, you have to plan,'' she says, noting that she pores over guidebooks, maps, literary and historical works before she leaves home. ``I find it hard to believe you can really enjoy a place without knowing anything about it ... knowing the history of the place, the tradition and the little spots that are around. You might miss a magical place by not knowing it's there.''

Rather than trying to cover all of one country in three weeks, Toth says she uses the ``thumbprint'' method - placing her thumb on a site on the map and devising excursions in the area the thumb covers. She's been able to thoroughly explore parts of England that way.

Maps are of prime importance, she says. ``How wonderful and how useful it is to own a really good map. There's nothing like a really good map to give you a sense of where you are.''

Toth admits she is ``addicted'' to English maps, such as the Ordnance Survey Series maps that even note telephone boxes, as well as sights to see. She also relishes the maps available in most of England's small towns on interesting hikes and walks in the area.

She and Stageberg generally avoid hotels and opt instead for what the British call ``self catering.'' They rent furnished cottages, even castles, generally through two main sources: the National Trust and the Landmark Trust.

``You stay in fascinating places,'' she says enthusiastically. ``In September, my husband and I are going to stay in Doyden Castle in Cornwall. It's just big enough to hold two people.''

Such rentals are often historic, homier and cheaper than a midprice hotel, she says. The cost ``depends on the size of the property. They don't charge by the number of people,'' she notes. Doyden Castle ranges from about $260 to $635 per week, depending on the season.

Toth and Stageberg have rented a cottage in the Cotswolds for about $400 for a week, she says.

Having their own place that comes with a kitchen offers another way to save. ``You cook your meals and it's amazing, you save so much,'' she says. Besides, sometimes when you're traveling, you just hanker for good old American cooking, she says.

She realizes some people don't want to cook when they travel. And Toth and her husband don't eat every meal in. Most lunches and some dinners are eaten out. But ``both of us like to cook and both of us are good, fast cooks. I don't spend time creating masterpieces from scratch.''

There is an adjunct joy to cooking for oneself and that is shopping for food. Toth loves the country markets, where she can buy fresh produce and fruit - and where she can mingle with local people.

The traveling cook even brings along her favorite kitchen utensils. She admits she is not one to travel lightly. ``I tend to pack quite a bit,'' she says. ``I think you should travel with what you think you're going to need. I don't think you should be tied to trying to fit everything in a small bag.''

People who advise buying whatever you need when you get to your destination have obviously not tried to find a Band-aid in a small English town after 10 p.m., she remarks.

Traveling as Toth does may sound too adventurous for newcomers to independent traveling. But Toth has some advice for them.

``Travel with another person if you're uneasy,'' she suggests. ``Spend your first independent week in London where they speak English, you're secure in your base of operation, and you can get around on foot, on the bus or the Underground.''

When you're feeling comfortable, ``Take a day trip to Cambridge or Oxford, take the train to Bath for a few days.''

And plan, she adds, always plan.

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Photo: Susan Allen Toth finds reason to smile when she plan s another trip to her belowed England for a ``thumbprint'' visit.