ENGLISH HUMOUR FOR BEGINNERS

‘If you want to succeed here you must be able to handle the English sense of humour.’ So proclaims George Mikes in his exploration of understatement, self-deprecation and plain cruelty. Perfectly placed as an adopted Englishman himself, Mikes delivers his shrewd advice - helpfully divided into 'Theory' and 'Practice' - with a comic precision that does his chosen country proud. Drawing on a trove of examples from a rich comic canon, from Orwell (‘Every joke is a tiny revolution’) to Oscar Wilde, this is the essential handbook for natives and foreigners alike.