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Debrett's Etiquette & Modern Manners/Correct Behaviour for Every Sphere of Social and Business Life
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March 12, 2024
A very fascinating glimpse into a world now vanished. Aside from the things that are either common sense or so well-established everyone has at least some idea via cultural osmosis, most everything in here is now outdated. This edition was published in 1990 and looks back over the decades preceeding; the world these rules serve is no longer in existence. Still, it is deeply interesting, and as a historical artefact it's very useful. Not to mention it's very fun reading, having someone earnestly tell me what I should do should I be invited to Buckingham Palace or out on a fox hunt. It's never going to happen, but it's amusing to read something from the perspective of someone who thinks it might.
Very interesting, definitely worth the read for those like me who just love the minutae of different time periods. It's a lot of fun seeing how it measures up to the modern world, and it's shocking how quickly everything has changed. In this book, women are still being warned that some men won't be happy to see them in the workplace and that she should make sure her wearing trousers will not cause offence -- in 1990! By the time I started school only 7 years later, trousers were an acceptable part of the uniform for girls and I had only ever seen my mother in jeans; by the time I was old enough to enter the workforce, the idea that my male colleagues would be surprised to see me there and that I might have to ask my boss if it was alright for me to wear trousers was so ridiculous it didn't even occur to me. This is honestly a really unique relic, and I feel well-rewarded for my rooting around in obscure charity bookshops.
Very interesting, definitely worth the read for those like me who just love the minutae of different time periods. It's a lot of fun seeing how it measures up to the modern world, and it's shocking how quickly everything has changed. In this book, women are still being warned that some men won't be happy to see them in the workplace and that she should make sure her wearing trousers will not cause offence -- in 1990! By the time I started school only 7 years later, trousers were an acceptable part of the uniform for girls and I had only ever seen my mother in jeans; by the time I was old enough to enter the workforce, the idea that my male colleagues would be surprised to see me there and that I might have to ask my boss if it was alright for me to wear trousers was so ridiculous it didn't even occur to me. This is honestly a really unique relic, and I feel well-rewarded for my rooting around in obscure charity bookshops.
Displaying 1 of 1 review