Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour

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Watching the English: The Hidden Rules of English Behaviour Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Kate Fox (Author), Joan Walker (Narrator), Hodder & Stoughton (Publisher)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,482 ratings
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  1. Listening Length
    21 hours and 13 minutes
  2. Author
    Kate Fox
  3. Narrator
    Joan Walker
  4. Audible release date
    October 22, 2020
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Hodder & Stoughton
  7. ASIN
    B08BG5KJCR
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 21 hours and 13 minutes
Author Kate Fox
Narrator Joan Walker
Audible.com Release Date October 22, 2020
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B08BG5KJCR
Best Sellers Rank #123,982 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#306 in Anthropology (Audible Books & Originals)
#364 in Great Britain History (Audible Books & Originals)
#1,972 in Cultural Anthropology (Books)

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
1,482 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Margaret Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book a must read for all people who deal with the English
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2013
Verified Purchase
I didn't realize the English were as described. I am pleased to have had the tips on not to make a fuss and never be earnest.

I do realize that coming from one of their colonies I have some similar behaviours but I am not exactly like the English thank goodness. But I do appreciate their good points.
One person found this helpful
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Sergiusz Kalinowski
5.0 out of 5 stars by the English, on the English, for the English...
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2014
Verified Purchase
... and those non-English who want to get in the minds of same.
Kate Fox does an adequate* job of trying to dissect the national character / mindset of her compatriots and boiling their many peculiarities down to 15 or so key terms. The real beauty of the book is that while she does all that, she *is* writing from an English perspective, and so - knowingly - falls prey to the self-same mind patterns. Really, I don't see how it could be any more meta :)
"Watching the English" is full of humour, understatement, irony, self-jabs, and a whole lot of mock-moaning; in other words, just what a proper English book should be.
Yes, I loved it. While it does get a bit laboured at times, it is punctuated by so many pearls of wit that the "labour" bit is easily forgiven.

* notice my cack-handed attempt at understatement. Translated for non-English, it means "splendid".
2 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2015
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Great fun for the English, great learning for other cultures. Well written, but a little repetitive. Recommended.
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The Professor
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun and insightful read
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2018
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As a way to really get some sense of Englishness, this is well worth the read. Fox does a fine job of incorporating the trademark English humour throughout the book, and makes a fine go at really covering a wide range of situations. If there is any fault in the book, it is that at times it violates its stated cardinal rule of Englishness: it almost becomes too earnest in spots. Still, if you are travelling, or are an Anglophile, or just curious (or, heavens forbid, are actually English) this is a good read.
3 people found this helpful
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Katherine Y
3.0 out of 5 stars Sociological study of the English.
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2018
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As an Anglophile, I was eager to read this book to gain a better understanding of English customs I found the book entertaining with the promised insight into social customs. It's a book you can flip through and read in no particular order subjects of interest.
One person found this helpful
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John Raileanu
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2014
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An excellent insight into what English is. I was particularly impressed by the word 'dis-ease'. So apt !! An eye opener of things we must have somehow intuited but not clearly understood.
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Victoria Mata
5.0 out of 5 stars Quite interesting, if I may.
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2017
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This book reveals in a sufficiently clear way the characteristic traits of Englishness. Quite interesting, if I may say. @KateFox
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Tiggum
4.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat irritating in style
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2014
Verified Purchase
There's a lot of interesting and amusing stuff about English culture and behaviour in this book, and I mostly enjoyed it, but the way it's written is frequently irritating. For one thing, the author's use of language is very, very repetitive, and she uses some words and phrases that I found quite irritating, such as "Eeyoreishness", "oh, come off it", "social dis-ease" repeatedly throughout.

There's also the false pretense that the author is just some idiot with no special knowledge and that she's coming upon this information in the same order the reader is and formulating her conclusions as she goes, and obviously that's not the case; Fox is an accomplished anthropologist and books aren't written like that. She collected the information first and put it together in a specific and intentional order, and pretending that that's not the case seems pointless and dumb.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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West Coaster
5.0 out of 5 stars All too true!
Reviewed in Canada on November 12, 2021
Verified Purchase
I’ve bought this to pass around to my Canadian friends who struggle to understand my British idiosyncrasies,
in the hope that they might get where I’m coming from without laughing themselves silly all the time.
This is a wonderful series of observations - funny, sympathetic and all too true…brilliant!
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Michael Xu
5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 29, 2023
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… whilst being fascinatingly insightful to everyday English interactions
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Michel
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellente description de la culture anglaise
Reviewed in France on December 7, 2022
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La description de la culture populaire anglaise est décrite par une sociologue professionnelle mais pour tout public.Truffé de remarques humoristiques, ce livre se lit et se relit avec plaisir .
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Cristina
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 estrelas
Reviewed in Brazil on December 15, 2020
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 Perfeito. Entrega antes do prazo de entrega pela Amazon Prime. Uma boa compra.
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Cristina
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 estrelas
Reviewed in Brazil on December 15, 2020
Perfeito. Entrega antes do prazo de entrega pela Amazon Prime. Uma boa compra.
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Maria Fiorella Bozzer
5.0 out of 5 stars Ottimo
Reviewed in Italy on April 10, 2022
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A chi piace leggere e imparare l'inglese lo consiglio, sono appena 566 pagine 😆
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