Journalist and theater critic Hitchings (The Language Wars) takes up the curious study of proper English behavior. 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. The tour of manners encompasses living conditions, language, social structures, innovations, and philosophy throughout ...
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Journalist and theater critic Hitchings (The Language Wars) takes up the curious study of proper English behavior. 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. The tour of manners encompasses living conditions, language, social structures, innovations, and philosophy throughout centuries. This is not a book of etiquette instruction, but deconstruction.
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