Etiquette
Ahead of my wedding in October 1981, I purchased a small but helpful guide book from a secondhand book shop. As far as I can deduce, the book first appeared in 1861 and was reprinted with very little alteration during the following two decades. Looking back, the book contains an accurate portrait of the attitudes and social mores of middle class Victorian Britain. It is called "Etiquette - On The Perfect Lady and Gentleman". Only 128 pages in length, the first thirty two pages address "ladies" and the following ninety six pages address "gentlemen". There are sections that advise on manners to be shown at ballroom or dinner events, travelling on trains, "Street Salutations", "Morning Visits", relationships between the sexes and even how to carve a range of meats including a calf's head. Although the author is unknown, he was clearly a zealous man on a mission. Being a rough, unpolished kind of fellow, I desperately needed guidan...
