US ad man Shepherd Mead, bestselling author of the book How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, moved to the UK with his family in 1958 and went on to publish a spoof handbook for fellow Americans to guide them through the nuances of British culture and save them from embarrassing social blunders.
Structured around the fictional experience of an American couple Peggy and Buckley Brash and their two children, the book covers such topics as ‘How to Dress in England’, ‘The Dream House and How to Rebuild it’ and ‘How to Live with the Upper Classes Without Having Any Money’. Through the Brash family’s encounters with the British and their bewildered conversations with each other as they attempt to interpret an alien way of life, Mead answers pertinent questions such as ‘Do English schools create sex madness?’ and ‘Is England really a pest hole?’ with quirky and affectionate humor.
Written with the light touch and incisive wit which brought Mead such success with his earlier book, and deftly illustrated with humorous cartoons, How to Live Like A Lord Without Really Trying is a satirical handbook packed with gems on Anglo-American differences and pithy advice, much of which rings true today.
For the reader in 2012, this book holds up a mirror to the bygone world of 1960s Britain and evokes the tantalizing image of Don Draper amongst the English Upper Classes.
‘Mad Men’ Come to Chatsworth...
July 25, 2012
