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Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour
 
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Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour (Paperback)

by Kate Fox (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Customers buy this book with The English: A Portrait of a People by Jeremy Paxman

Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour + The English: A Portrait of a People
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Product details

  • Paperback: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (11 April 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0340818867
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340818862
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (81 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,141 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Anthropology > Customs & Folklore
    #2 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Cultural Studies > Popular Culture
    #57 in  Books > Travel & Holiday

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Product Description

The Times
‘Amusing . . . entertaining.'

Review
‘She has not only compiled a comprehensive list of English qualities, she has examined them in depth and wondered how we came to acquire them. Her book is a delightful read.’ (The Sunday Times )

‘I loved the section on mobile-phone etiquette. Shrewd . . . I liked the chapter on English humour. This is an entertaining, clever book. Do read it and then pass it on.’ (Daily Telegraph )

‘Amusing . . . entertaining.’ (The Times )

‘Watching the English . . . will make you laugh out loud (“Oh God. I do that!”) and cringe simultaneously (“Oh God. I do that as well.”). This is a hilarious book which just shows us for what we are . . . beautifully-observed. It is a wonderful read for both the English and those who look at us and wonder why we do what we do. Now they’ll know.’ (Birmingham Post )

‘Fascinating reading.’ (Oxford Times )

'An absolutely brilliant examination of English culture and how foreigners take as complete mystery the things we take for granted.' (Jennifer Saunders, The Times )

'If you like this kind of anthropology (and I do) there is a wealth of it to enjoy in this book. Her observations are acute...fortunately she doesn't write like an anthropologist but like an English woman -with amusement, not solemnity, able to laugh at herself as well as us.' (Daily Mail )

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour
97% buy the item featured on this page:
Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour 3.7 out of 5 stars (81)
£5.79
The English: A Portrait of a People
1% buy
The English: A Portrait of a People 3.8 out of 5 stars (77)
£6.49
Brit-think, Ameri-think: A Transatlantic Survival Guide
1% buy
Brit-think, Ameri-think: A Transatlantic Survival Guide 4.3 out of 5 stars (7)
£6.99
The Xenophobe's Guide to the English (Xenophobe's Guides)
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The Xenophobe's Guide to the English (Xenophobe's Guides) 4.3 out of 5 stars (3)
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Customer Reviews

81 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
 (18)
3 star:
 (14)
2 star:
 (6)
1 star:
 (11)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (81 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
78 of 81 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice weather if you're a duck., 11 May 2004
By C. Robson (Mayfair, London, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Watching the English: the Hidden Rules of English Behaviour (Hardcover)
When I heard there was a book coming out about English "quirks" I knew I had to get it. I love people-watching and love the idea that certain traits are inherent to the English tribe.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I wasn't disappointed. This is a hefty book, and I'm not a "read-the-book-in-a-night" person, preferring to dip in and out whenever I get a chance, but I have found myself preferring to pick up the book rather than watch the TV. I've even missed breakfast a few mornings this week, preferring to sit with a cuppa and read so it must be good!

Have you ever wondered:
* Why we talk about the weather so much?
* Why we can't accept compliments without embarrassment?
* Why WE apologise when someone bumps into us?
* How we use humour/irony as a defence mechanism

And did you know, men gossip as much as women? The proof is in here!

The one that has made me laugh the loudest so far was the section on gossiping / bitching.

This is low-brow anthropology but don't get me wrong, it's not for stupid people! There's a lot of academic terminology, which can at times be confusing, but Kate follows this up with clear examples and definitions to clarify her points. The characteristics covered thus far, I have to admit, ring too true. Getting off the phone to realise I have just fulfilled so many "English" stereotypes is shocking but amusing. Kate’s style of writing is conversational, but not patronising. It’s intricate but not complicated. Her accurate observations are alarming, entertaining, and really quite fascinating.

I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in culture; tribalism; communications; sociology; or simply the English and our eccentricities.

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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Very amusing, 26 Jul 2004
By S. A. Richmond (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Watching the English: the Hidden Rules of English Behaviour (Hardcover)
There's something in me which means that I'm marginally embarrassed to have bought this book. I removed the book's outer jacket so that people on the train wouldn't see what I was reading. Maybe I have the 'dis-ease' which the author refers to in the book -- so innately private, I didn't like the thought of other people seeing what I was reading.

The book is humorous because it looks at the many obvious characteristics of the English. Things like not speaking to people on the train because you're worried that striking up a conversation will lead to awkwardness later is quite natural, but it seems that this isn't something that afflicts other nations.

She refers to Jeremy Paxman's book 'The English' heavily throughout, which is sensible, as it is a much more comprehensive book.

This book is simple social commentary, which is easy and enjoyable to read.
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58 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An amusing and acute book about the English, 10 Nov 2006
By Helen Hancox "Auntie Helen" (Essex, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
I started this book 3 days after returning from my first trip to America. Whilst in America I became aware of the huge cultural difference between the friendly people of the USA and traditional Brits amongst whom I've lived almost my whole life - I found much of American behaviour inexplicable and rather rude and personal towards someone they didn't know. I breathed a sigh of relief when returning to England, back amongst normal people who aren't continually nosy and telling you what they think about politics, religion and anything else the whole time.

I wish I'd read this book before I went. Not that I wouldn't have found a lot of American behaviour strange after reading it (I would still have done) but I would have been more aware of my cultural disabilities and how weird I must seem to them.

That's the power of this book - you can dip into almost any page, read a paragraph and say "that's me!" Kate Fox has studied the English for 10 years with remarkable acuity and she is able to identify behaviours that, to us, are entirely normal but are actually just part of our collective odd English behaviour patterns. When a man I had just been introduced to in America said "So, tell me all about yourself" I was left gaping at him in horror; `Watching The English' describes how people in the UK never share personal information unless they know someone particularly well - and in fact most people don't even introduce themselves to start with - my horror was expected and justified as I had never before been called upon to `blow my own trumpet' and it is completely counter to British reserve and our self-effacing nature. Her comments on ignoring other passengers on train journeys, on our national obsession with pets, on queuing, mobile phone use, class distinctions, dislike of fuss and bother and so many other areas rang completely true.

What I particularly liked about the book (and that I am English would of course confirm this) was that she wrote with a lot of humour and throw-away one-liners, she wasn't hugely pro-English or anti-English, she wasn't anti-American (despite them being so ODD!) and was able to illustrate her comments through the vast amount of research that she has done, including interviewing English people and foreigners and carrying out experiments herself (such as bumping into people in the street and seeing if they say `sorry' - the English generally do).

It's a surprisingly long book and not something you'd sit and read in one go. In fact I think it works best as something you dip into and that's how I've read it over a few days - opening it at random, reading a few pages, then flicking on. It's all subdivided into different headings and subheadings and doesn't really need to be read linearly to be understood. I found myself reading out vast tranches of it to anyone in earshot as it was so amusing and accurate. I read the introduction last of all, having read many comments by Amazon reviews that it was rather hard going - I found the introduction fine, but perhaps that was because by then I had enjoyed the book and found that I very much appreciated the author, her self-deprecating humour and her willingness to share her foibles and those of her family.

This book would make an ideal present for any English people out there who want to laugh at themselves (that's all of us), for anyone about to travel to a different culture (to avoid misunderstandings through others' behaviour) and particularly for those living in other countries who want to visit us without putting their foot in it at every conceivable opportunity.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great manual for new UK comers!
This book is an excellent "welcome manual" for whoever comes to live in the UK. This is my second relocation and despite the learnings from previous experiences, it's always... Read more
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4.0 out of 5 stars Scarily accurate
Fanastic insight into the idioscrincies of english behaviour - no wonder others have such difficulty understanding how we 'work'. Read more
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5.0 out of 5 stars Watching the English
Immediately engaging, this book holds a mirror up to all the various quirks and other strange habits that define us as English. Read more
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4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Only half way through and it's really small print and no pictures! But it is rather brilliant if you want to understand why the English/British are like they are. Read more
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1.0 out of 5 stars total poop

This is the worst social science book I have read in years.

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5.0 out of 5 stars V insightful and wittily opinionated.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Watching the English
What an amazing book ! Read this ,and you will never see yourself in the same light again ! Informative, helpful, hilarious....I could go on.... Read more
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4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, funny and easy to read...
Have you ever wondered why it is that when you bump into someone, they say sorry? Or why we appear to be obsessed by the weather? Read more
Published 5 months ago by Scarabo

4.0 out of 5 stars Captures the English sensibility perfectly
A light, amusing book attempting to define the English character through careful systematic observation and interviews with both `natives' and foreigners. Read more
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