English Humour for Beginners

(Paperback)

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Description

Our beloved adopted Brit takes on the English at their own game If you want to succeed here you must be able to handle the English sense of humour. So proclaims George Mikes' timeless exploration of this curious phenomenon. Whether it's understatement, self-deprecation or plain cruelty, the three elements he identifies as essential to our sense of humour, being witty here is a way of life. Perfectly placed as an adopted Englishman himself, Mikes delivers his shrewd advice - helpfully divided into 'Theory' and 'Practice' - with a comic precision that does his chosen country proud. Drawing on a trove of examples from our rich comic canon, from Orwell ("Every joke is a tiny revolution") to Oscar Wilde, this is the essential handbook for natives and foreigners alike. Mrs Kennedy- "I don't think, Mr Churchill, that I have told you anything about my grandchildren." Winston Churchill- "For which, madam, I am infinitely grateful."

Reviews

Wise and witty -- William Cook on 'How to Be an Alien' * Spectator *
Brilliantly comical -- Pico Iyer on 'How to Be an Alien' * New York Times *
Very funny * The Economist *
He is witty, observant, tolerant and sane * The Observer *
To write a book is hard; to write a funny book is harder; to write a funny book both wise and funny is the prerogative of Mr. Mikes * The Times *

Author Bio

Though George Mikes (pronounced 'me-kesh') started life as a Hungarian, he became a humorist as English as they come. Born in 1912, he moved to London in 1938 to become the correspondent for a Hungarian newspaper, and then he never left. A keen observer of the behaviour and misbehaviour of foreigners and natives in Britain, he is frequently cited by later authors including Kate Fox and Jeremy Paxman. He died in London in 1987.