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Kate Fox

Watching the English

WATCHING THE ENGLISH

The Hidden Rules of

English Behaviour

Kate Fox

HODDER amp; STOUGHTON

Kate Fox, a social anthropologist, is Co-Director of the Social Issues Research Centre in Oxford and a Fellow of the Institute for Cultural Research. Following an erratic education in England, America, Ireland and France, she studied anthropology and philosophy at Cambridge.

'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

'The book captivates at the first page. It's fun. It's also embarrassing. "Yes...

yes," the reader will constantly exclaim. "I'm always doing that"'.

Manchester Evening News

'There's a qualitative difference in the results, the telling detail that adds real weight. Fox brings enough wit and insight to her portrayal of the tribe to raise many a smile of recognition. She has a talent for observation, bringing a sharp and humorous eye and ear to everyday conventions, from the choreography of the English queue to the curious etiquette of weather talk. '

The Tablet

'It's a fascinating and insightful book, but what really sets it apart is the informal style aimed squarely at the intelligent layman. '

City Life, Manchester

'Fascinating... Every aspect of English conversation and behaviour is put under the microscope. Watching the English is a thorough study which is interesting and amusing. '

Western Daily Press

'Enjoyable good fun, with underlying seriousness - a book to dip into at random and relish for its many acute observations. '

Leicester Mercury

Also by Kate Fox

The Racing Tribe: Watching the Horsewatchers

Pubwatching with Desmond Morris

Passport to the Pub:

The Tourist's Guide to Pub Etiquette

Drinking and Public Disorder

(with Dr Peter Marsh)

WATCHING THE ENGLISH

The Hidden Rules of

English Behaviour

Kate Fox

HODDER amp; STOUGHTON

Copyright 2004 by Kate Fox

The right of Kate Fox to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

Epub ISBN 978 1 84894 050 5

Book ISBN 978 0 340 81886 2

Hodder and Stoughton Ltd

A division of Hodder Headline

338 Euston Road

London NW1 3BH

To Henry, William, Sarah and Katharine

CONTENTS

Introduction - Anthropology at Home