Emily Post

[dhermann1]

Here's a fun review of a bio of that great arbiter of good manners, Emily Post. Of course, from the New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2008/10/20/081020crbo_books_kolbert?currentPage=all

 

[Ace Fedora]

Great article! I had always pictured Emily Post as one of those toffee-nosed snots who sat in their exquisitely-paneled offices and dictated proper manners to the servantless. I certainly have more respect for her now.

 

[Paisley]

Here's another review from the October 16 edition of the Wall Street Journal (link requires subscription). The article's author is a fan of the book Etiquette, as am I (I have the 1940 edition). My favorite quote from the article:

"The way people treated others was more important than an address or last name could ever be," writes Ms. Claridge. "With each subsequent edition of 'Etiquette' " -- Post would revise the 250,000-word book 10 times before her death in 1960 -- "she further defined 'good breeding' or 'class' as an external sign of people with good character.'"​

As for the New Yorker's reviewer pooh-poohing the idea of behaving exactly as your neighbors do as a tactic to get along with them, I guess she's never had the pleasure of living next to Section 8 housing.

 

[Subvet642]

My wife has a copy of her book (I don't recall which edition), and I love it. As near as I can tell from her writing, she was warm and quite funny. While much of her advice is now rendered obsolete, there is very much that is quite useful. The point of course is to take from it what applies, and see the rest as a glimpse into the past.

P.S. I checked with the wife, it turnes out that the book is by Miss. Manners, not Emily Post. Oops!