The School of Life Guide to Modern Manners : how to navigate the dilemmas of social life

Author: The School of Life

Parties, etiquette & entertaining

Published on 7 November 2024 by The School of Life Press in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 144 pages
198 x 130 x 10 | 122g

Modern life is full of minor but acute dilemmas: we get stuck at a gathering with someone unusually boring and wonder how to move on without causing offence; in the course of introducing one friend to another, we realise that we have forgotten one of the party’s names; we run into an ex while on an early date with a new partner; we spill red wine across a host’s sofa...

Such dilemmas might – at one level – seem desperately insignificant. But they actually belong to some of the largest and most serious themes in social existence: how can you pursue our own agenda for happiness while at the same time honouring the sensitivities and wishes of others; how can you convey goodwill with sincerity; how can you be kind without being supine or sentimental?It is often confusing to know how to act around others and navigate social situations. This book features twenty case-studies on common social dilemmas and our possible responses to them, contributing to a new and original philosophy of graceful conduct.