What do you think?
Rate this book
England: A Class of Its Own: An Outsider's View
A wry, affectionate and amusing take on English class and customs from an outsider's perspective.
For years German lawyer and author Detlev Piltz has been observing England, its life, customs and above all its classes. He argues that whenever an English person meets another, they will immediately try and place the individual they are talking to in a class by their speech, deportment, clothing, address and general aura. Why might this be, and does the English class system still exist in the twenty-first century? This book argues that it is very much still alive.
Piltz examines the 'hard' and 'soft' class markers that permeate English society, from where Britons go on holiday to what they wear, eat, drive and what they name their pets. He explains how the way you pronounce the word 'garage' indicates your class, and asks whether it makes sense still to talk of the English Gentleman, a species of human being so often admired in continental Europe yet parodied and satirized ad infinitum.
A Class of Its Own is based on an incredible amount of research and riddled with amusing quotations. In the same vein as Jilly Cooper's Class , this is a book that will give pleasure and amusement to many.
For years German lawyer and author Detlev Piltz has been observing England, its life, customs and above all its classes. He argues that whenever an English person meets another, they will immediately try and place the individual they are talking to in a class by their speech, deportment, clothing, address and general aura. Why might this be, and does the English class system still exist in the twenty-first century? This book argues that it is very much still alive.
Piltz examines the 'hard' and 'soft' class markers that permeate English society, from where Britons go on holiday to what they wear, eat, drive and what they name their pets. He explains how the way you pronounce the word 'garage' indicates your class, and asks whether it makes sense still to talk of the English Gentleman, a species of human being so often admired in continental Europe yet parodied and satirized ad infinitum.
A Class of Its Own is based on an incredible amount of research and riddled with amusing quotations. In the same vein as Jilly Cooper's Class , this is a book that will give pleasure and amusement to many.
- GenresNonfiction
432 pages, Hardcover
Published June 14, 2022
4 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 24, 2025
Of course I’m a little embarrassed to admit to reading a book on class , and I’ve discovered in the reading that this embarrassment is a typical reaction of an Englishman on the subject . It’s not a subject we ever discuss really is it ?
I enjoyed it because the book dissects our mental state and gives astute sometimes amusing examples of recognisable behaviours .
For example. The English upper crust are more admiring of the 3rd or 7th say generation of a wealthy and noble family , than they are of the hard working founder. The ambition and the effort - these rank lower ( in English society ) than the receipt of prestige and rank through inheritance. I agree that this is the case in England - but what kind of nonsense is that !?
It’s a really interesting analysis by an outsider , a German with a long held love of England , of a subject that rarely gets an “ airing “. And having read it I agree with much of the points made - the hard and the soft markers of class , as he puts it , in example.
He also reminds us that advantage in England is largely down to your birth, and from that your education and your connections. He then makes the interesting points that many even most politicians declare that “ equality of opportunity “ is the great objective , which they all signally fail to deliver.
From there he draws the rather satisfying conclusion : satisfying because I find it to be truthful - that this is the way England works and will continue to do so.
The upper classes in England always embrace newcomers - eventually - providing they come with money and aren’t too pushy - the author suggests this is a reason why we avoided a bloody revolution .
A rather fascinating book I reluctantly admit I have read
I enjoyed it because the book dissects our mental state and gives astute sometimes amusing examples of recognisable behaviours .
For example. The English upper crust are more admiring of the 3rd or 7th say generation of a wealthy and noble family , than they are of the hard working founder. The ambition and the effort - these rank lower ( in English society ) than the receipt of prestige and rank through inheritance. I agree that this is the case in England - but what kind of nonsense is that !?
It’s a really interesting analysis by an outsider , a German with a long held love of England , of a subject that rarely gets an “ airing “. And having read it I agree with much of the points made - the hard and the soft markers of class , as he puts it , in example.
He also reminds us that advantage in England is largely down to your birth, and from that your education and your connections. He then makes the interesting points that many even most politicians declare that “ equality of opportunity “ is the great objective , which they all signally fail to deliver.
From there he draws the rather satisfying conclusion : satisfying because I find it to be truthful - that this is the way England works and will continue to do so.
The upper classes in England always embrace newcomers - eventually - providing they come with money and aren’t too pushy - the author suggests this is a reason why we avoided a bloody revolution .
A rather fascinating book I reluctantly admit I have read
August 29, 2022
This is a fascinating but flawed book. There are some crazy assertions and contradictions too numerous to quote here - open any page at random to find examples. But the subtitle provides a clue and allows forgiveness. He is a bit of a snob and gives the benefit of the doubt to the upper and yet it is well meant. I do wonder how many working class people he has met.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews