"This is not another etiquette book detailing the antiquated, excruciating, and frankly confusing minefield of rules lauded by traditionalists. Let's face it, many of us will never need to know which side a snail fork should be placed at the dinner table, nor are we likely to 'take tea' with the Queen. Yet we could all do with a little help in perfecting our manners, self-confidence, and social graces for everyday living. English Etiquette details everything the English know about why etiquette matters, in a modern, understandable, and unpretentious way -- while teaching you how to cultivate a traditional and charming countenance to rival any royal. Covering topics such as gallantry and grace, common decency, lifestyle choices, the quintessential English wardrobe, and behaviour in the home, you will learn how to shoehorn a little English gentility from this practical field guide into your daily life. So pull your socks up ladies and gentlemen, pour yourself a cup of tea, and join The Darling Academy as we return to a culture of good manners, civility, and chivalry the world is longing for. A proper, polite, and graceful way of living is making a comeback. Long may it prevail."--Page 4 of cover.

Connoisseur's Book Japanese Swords is a Kodansha International publication.

A vivid and exciting account of royal collectors, art dealers, connoisseurs, and the rise of old master paintings Old master paintings are among the most valuable and prestigious of the visual arts, and the best examples command the highest prices of any luxury commodity. In Kings and Connoisseurs, Jonathan Brown tells the story of how painting rose to this exalted status. The transformation of painting from an inexpensive to a costly art form reached a crucial stage in the royal courts of Europe in the seventeenth century, where rulers and aristocrats assembled huge collections, often in short periods of time. By comparing collecting and collectors at these courts, Brown explains the formation of new attitudes toward pictures, as well as the mechanisms that supported the enterprise of collecting, including the emergence of the art dealer, the development of connoisseurship, and the publication of sumptuous picture books of various collections. The result is an exciting narrative of greed and passion, played out against a background of international politics and intrigue.