Henry Hitchings

Sorry!

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

A HUMOROUS AND CHARMING INVESTIGATION INTO THE HISTORY OF AND REASONS BEHIND ENGLISH MANNERS Most of us know a bit about what passes for good manners-holding doors open, sending thank-you notes, no elbows on the table-and we certainly know bad manners when we see them. But where has this patchwork of beliefs and behaviors come from? How did manners develop? How do they change? And why do they matter so much? In examining English manners, Henry Hitchings delves into the English character and investigates what it means to be English. 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 England's customs and courtesies. Putting some of the most astute observers of humanity-including Jane Austen and Samuel Pepys-under the microscope, he uses their lives and writings to pry open the often downright peculiar secrets of the English character. Hitchings's blend of history, anthropology, and personal journey helps us understand the bizarre and contested cultural baggage that goes along with our understanding of what it means to have good manners.

---

Hinweis: Dieser Artikel kann nur an eine deutsche Lieferadresse ausgeliefert werden.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Macmillan US / Picador USA
• Seitenzahl: 402
• Erscheinungstermin: 2. Dezember 2014
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 24mm
• Gewicht: 451g
• ISBN-13: 9781250056153
• ISBN-10: 1250056152
• Artikelnr.: 40738425

Autorenporträt

Henry Hitchings

Inhaltsangabe

Note on the Text vii
1. The stars' tennis balls: or, a short introduction
from an unusual angle 1
2. 'I'ma get medieval on yo ass': manners in the
age of chivalry 9
3. Lubricants and fi lters: 'a kind of lesser morality' 30
4. Godspeed, babe: or, meetings and greetings 41
5. Of courtiers and codpieces: fashioning
Renaissance identity 53
6. But who was the Renaissance man? 64
7. Table manners: or, how to eat a cobra's heart 81
8. The Clothes Show: 'When in doubt, opt for navy' 98
9. Mr Sex 106
10. Not Mr Sex: when 'coffee' doesn't mean coffee 123
11. The elephant and the bad baby: the everyday
language of manners 133
12. Spectators and stratagems: the polite, commercial
eighteenth century 152
13. Lord Chesterfi eld and the invention of etiquette 165
14. Letters and social change: Jane Austen and
Fanny Burney 187
15. The Englishness of English manners 195
16. Island Man and his discontents: 'They do things
differently there' 210
17. Fanny Trollope and the domestic manners of
Americans 223
18. 'You're the most important person!': the trouble
with children 233
19. What were Victorian values? 240
20. Curb your enthusiasm: new ways for new times 257
21. Creative hubs and 'extreme phenomena':
negotiating the modern city 267
22. Location, location, location: the rules of place 276
23. A fl uid world: or, 'Are you suggesting that I
should call you Eric?' 284
24. Technology and the revenge effect 300
25. 'Are we there yet?': manners now 307
Acknowledgements 325
Notes 327
Bibliography 353
Index 379