Watching the English cover art

Watching the English

The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour

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Watching the English

By: Kate Fox
Narrated by: Joan Walker
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About this listen

THE BESTSELLING MODERN CLASSIC. OVER HALF A MILLION COPIES SOLD.

'Brilliant and hilarious' GRAYSON PERRY
'A delightful read' SUNDAY TIMES
'Laugh out loud' MARTIN PARR
'Absolutely brilliant' JENNIFER SAUNDERS
'An entertaining, clever book' TELEGRAPH

WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY GRAYSON PERRY

The unofficial guidebook to the English national character by anthropologist Kate Fox.

Watching the English picks apart the bizarre codes of behaviour and quiet embarrassment of English culture to help you navigate the unspoken rules of this peculiar island nation.

Kate Fox lays bare the inner workings of the class system and reveals why the whole country obsessively apologises and talks incessantly about the weather.

©2004 Kate Fox (P)2020 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
Anthropology Europe Great Britain England

What listeners say about Watching the English

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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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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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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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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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