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Watching the English

The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour - the hilarious and insightful modern classic with over half a million copies sold

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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.


From the class system to conversation etiquette, Kate Fox picks apart and exposes the bizarre codes of behaviour that the English unconsciously obey.


If you are English, this book will make you re-examine everything you take for granted. And if you aren't English, it will help you navigate the rules of this peculiar culture.

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READERS LOVE WATCHING THE ENGLISH:

'A hugely enjoyable read . . . If you want to be really cheered up and entertained with some well-crafted observation of the embarrassingly familiar then do read this book - it's a joy.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'A great read for lovers of sociology, language and anthropology.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'A very thought-provoking and insightful book. It draws to your attention all the intricacies of class distinction and underlying humour that pervades almost everything we do.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


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

Critic Reviews

An absolutely brilliant examination of English culture and how foreigners take as complete mystery the things we take for granted.
She has not only compiled a comprehensive list of English qualities, she has examined them in depth and wondered how we came to acquire them. Her book is a delightful read.
I loved the section on mobile-phone etiquette. Shrewd...I liked the chapter on English humour. This is an entertaining, clever book. Do read it and then pass it on.
Kate Fox's brilliant idea is to treat the British as another tribe...where she's particularly astute is in examining the exact pattern of clichés. Any study of the English must cover our class obsession, and Fox deals with the subject thoroughly.
If you like this kind of anthropology (and I do) there is a wealth of it to enjoy in this book. Her observations are acute... fortunately she doesn't write like an anthropologist but like an English woman - with amusement, not solemnity, able to laugh at herself as well as us.
Brilliant and hilarious
I read it cover to cover in a few days . . . very sharp and witty prose. It really is funny - the sort of humour that makes you laugh out loud on your own!
She is the only popular UK anthropologist of substance since the 1970s.
She's a witty and eloquent writer whose accessible book reads as a scholarly classification of our shared codes of behaviour and an affectionate homage to our foibles.
It is consistently the most popular text I teach, not only because it's a hilarious page-turner but also because Fox offers truly insightful glimpses into what a sophisticated anthropological mindset can reveal about human cultural life . . . Watching the English embodies the anthropological credo of making the strange familiar and the familiar strange.
All stars
Most relevant
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.

Thoroughly enjoyed

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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’.

Insightful and well documented

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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.

Disappointed

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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.

Some interesting points

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