Product Description

Originally published in the 1930s and long forgotten, this is a spoof foreign tourist guide on how to speak and behave in England. Following in the tradition of Daisy Ashford and Mr Chomondley-Warner, our "German" author concocts model Englishmen Lord Smith, Lord Robinson and Viscount Brown to demonstrate to eager students just how to "get along quite first-hole with the Bestcircles of Lords and Miladys". Topics of study include society, sport, love, humour, animals, London, the countryside and birthdays. Each lesson includes sample conversation pieces between Smith, Robinson and Brown at large in society.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #609853 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

Prepare to die laughing
Buy this book NOW if you have ever laughed at a Turkish menu or Chinese instruction manual badly translated into English. This book must not be read in a public place. Nor, for that matter, in bed next to a loved one, nor on a sofa beside anyone. "How to do and say in England" is one of the funniest pieces of writing I have ever read, and unless you are happy to be seen crying with laughter on the train, or causing people sitting next to you to wobble as you are wracked with laughter - don't buy it. Ostensibly written in 1936 as a spoof guide to the language and manners of upper class inter-war England for socially-aspiring Germans, this book sets out sections of advice on behaviour and English usage, followed by specimen conversations showing the correct, top-hole English style as adopted by the "Bestpeople". Chapters on hunting, sport, conversation and so on lead the reader deeper and deeper into error. If you are afflicted by political correctness - fear not: the targets of the book are not Germans, but snobbery, pretension and the folly of trying to master the nuances of language and behaviour using phrasebooks and etiquette guides. On a scale of one to ten, this book, for me, is an eleven.

Mildly amusing in small dosings
The kompaktikum is a spoof social primer, presumably for German visitors wishing to learn English social ettiquette and often includes clever word play, punnery and amusing mis-spelling. The reader is taken through all of the traditional pastimes and social occasions and given advice or apt sample phrases and conversations e.g. "Horsemanliness - Horse knowledgeabiliti (and lov) is scarceli not less than compulsory in englisch society so it is safe always to stress your horsemanliness and to vociferate how much you approve of the good beasts. Be warned that it may also be necessary actually to take a seat on one and stay there while it goes from one place to another" (sic). Perhaps not fair to take snippets out of context but this would be a fairly typical quote and the book more often raises a smile than a chortle or guffaw. There are some subtly satirical comparisons between the German and British national character - made more interesting by being written in the run up to WWII. It is a slim volume and that is probably for the best - read it in small chunks as it gets a little repetitive and cloying after a while. Quite a good, if dated, read but the Two Ronnies could have done it better in a single sketch.