Sorry! The English and Their Manners
-
- £3.99
-
- £3.99
Publisher Description
Most of us know a bit about what passes for good manners - holding doors open, sending thank-you notes, no elbows on the table. We certainly know bad manners when we see them. But where has this patchwork of beliefs and behaviours come from? How did manners develop? How do they change? And why do they matter so much to us?
In examining our manners, Henry Hitchings delves into the English character and investigates our notions of Englishness. Sorry! presents an amusing, illuminating and quirky audit of English manners. From basic table manners to appropriate sexual conduct, via hospitality, chivalry, faux pas and online etiquette, Hitchings traces the history of our country's customs and courtesies.
Putting under the microscope some of our most astute observers of humanity, including Jane Austen and Samuel Pepys, he uses their lives and writings to pry open the often downright peculiar secrets of the English character. Hitchings' blend of history, anthropology and personal journey helps us understand our bizarre and contested cultural baggage - and ourselves.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist and theater critic Hitchings (The Language Wars) takes up the curious study of proper English behavior in his latest book. Manners matter to the English, yet the Daily Mail reported a study in 2008 "claiming that bad manners were the biggest problem facing society." Part social history, part cultural critique, the book moves humorously from the ancient to the modern with pithy anecdotes and amusing factoids. In the medieval court of Henry II, "One shouldn't attack an enemy while he is defecating, should avoid sharing secrets with one's wife, and ought to look towards the ceiling when belching." As the author notes, "people have been talking about modern manners' since the 18th century," and the discussion continues. Throughout the book, Hitchings offers genuine insight into the paradox of the English character: "The English are polite, and they are also rude. Extreme rudeness and elaborate politeness both stem from feelings of unease; they are different techniques for twisting one's way out of discomfiture." This seriously amusing and illuminating book goes a long way toward explaining to Anglophobe, Anglophile, and the just plain puzzled why "the average Briton says Sorry' eight times a day."
