Watching the English
The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour
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Watching the English
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Narrated by:
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Joan Walker
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By:
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Kate Fox
About this listen
The international bestseller and unofficial guidebook to the English national character by anthropologist Kate Fox.
Have you ever been unable to explain the idiosyncrasies of English humour, bizarre mobile-phone etiquette, or the endless obsession with class? In this classic bestselling book, social anthropologist Kate Fox puts a nation under a microscope. The result is a biting, affectionate, insightful and often hilarious look at the English in all our glory.
Based on extensive field-research, experiments and observations, Fox deciphers a strange and fascinating culture, governed by complex sets of unspoken rules and bizarre codes of behaviour. She uncovers the roots of English self-mockery and demystifies peculiar cultural features such as 'weather-speak', class anxiety tests, the paranoid pantomime rule and the apology reflex. If you're English, this book will help you understand yourself and your fellow countrymen in a new way. And if you aren't English, you'll finally understand why we talk about the weather so much.
A worldwide bestseller, translated into multiple languages, and a set text for university anthropology courses, Watching the English is a timeless classic on the quirks, habits and foibles of the English people.
What listeners say about Watching the English
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Emma
- 09-02-2024
Thoroughly enjoyed
The narrator has the perfect voice, I had to keep reminding myself they weren’t the author. And lots of interesting insights, all expressed in an appropriately meta way.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Britpop
- 17-05-2022
Insightful and well documented
As an Englishman in my 40’s living overseas, this was an affirming book to demonstrate why and wherefore of English cultural behaviour. I don’t personally agree with the reviews I’ve read that say it’s boring or un-entertaining. It’s a research based, anthropology. If you want whimsical low brow observations, read ‘Bill Bryson / notes from a small island’.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bin Lu
- 25-02-2022
Disappointed
The narrator’s voice makes this hilarious book a boring , tedious to listen to. I read this book before and was so impressed with the humour of it. Thought I could get a bit fun by listening to it. So disappointed.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Hammie
- 29-04-2023
Some interesting points
Some interesting points but the book needs some serious editing: it is highly repetitive and mixes academic observations with subjective opinion. The narration caused me to tune out repeatedly and grated on me at other times.
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