Description

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“If you do it right, being a grown-up is just like being a kid . . . but without people telling you off.”

No one learns “etiquette” anymore (except by embarrassing trial and error). But manners are more than a dusty tradition: Done right, they make life easier—for everyone! That’s why Sandi Toksvig highlights decency rather than convention in this entertaining guide, with:

• Spot-On Advice: “Remember—you don’t have to answer the phone, so don’t do it if you don’t have time to be polite.”


• Fascinating Trivia: “It is very rude to clear the plate of someone who hasn’t finished. In fact, the Romans believed doing so would bring about the diner’s sudden death.”


• And Her Characteristic Wit: “Focusing on the people you share a meal with is both a pleasure and a necessity. Get to know your family members; you might even like them.”

Be the most decently behaved person in the room, and the most interesting: Master The Tricky Art of Co-Existing!

About the Author

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Sandi Toksvig, OBE, is an award-winning writer, presenter, actress, and politician. She is often seen and heard on the BBC and has hosted several of its shows, including The Great British Bake Off (available in the US on PBS and Netflix), which she has co-presented since 2017. The author of more than twenty books and a regular columnist for the UK edition of Good Housekeeping, Toksvig is a “national treasure” (The Guardian). She was named Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth in 2012, and in March 2014 was awarded the prestigious title of OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire). A true authority on successfully co-existing with others, Toksvig is now helping launch the Women’s Equality Party in the UK to campaign for women’s rights.

Praise For…

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[Toksvig’s] advice is sound and should save many, not least young Mary, from unintentional etiquette gaffes in the future.
— Publishers Weekly

Sandi Toksvig is the agony aunt you never knew you needed. . . . Instead of some prissy, preachy list of rules, [she] backs up her suggestions on etiquette with occasionally obscure and often hilarious facts.
— Bust

This clever book of etiquette is not concerned with how one should address an archbishop but is rather a smart guide to day-to-day existence, especially for young people. Toksvig’s skillful turns of phrase make the work entertaining as well as useful. . . . Sensible and extremely amusing, this engaging book is recommended.
— Library Journal, starred review

Do we really need another book about manners? Yes! Especially when the writing is wonderfully funny and the content is so extremely useful. Just by reading the title—The Tricky Art of Co-Existing: How to Behave Decently No Matter What Life Throws Your Way—we know we’re in the hands of an author who possesses the magic touch of turning platitudes into golden prose.

— Book Page

Sandi Toksvig’s book is both educational and entertaining. It’s a user-friendly approach to living, working and getting along in today’s challenging business and social arenas. The Tricky Art of Co-Existing is a must-have!

— Dorothea Johnson, founder of The Protocol School of Washington and co-author, with Liv Tyler, of Modern Manners

An entertaining guide to navigating life’s delicate moments that is as enjoyable as it is practical. No-nonsense advice shot through with quirky tales from history, eye-opening word origins, and the often humorous dictates of etiquette-makers going back centuries—Dame Sandy Toksvig brings it all together with enough zing and zest to flavor a spicy curry. A wonderful, witty delight. Rarely have I enjoyed being told what to do and how to behave so darn much!
— Rick Beyer, author of The Greatest Stories Never Told

In The Tricky Art of Co-Existing, Sandi Toksvig navigates life’s little dilemmas with wit and not-so-common sense. You’ll learn the strange history of common courtesy and the one true secret of social success: how to not drive everyone around you crazy.

— William Poundstone, author of Rock Breaks Scissors: A Practical Guide to Outguessing and Outwitting Almost Everybody

A delightfully written, comprehensive guide full of fascinating historical tidbits. Every grad should get a copy!
— Lynette Padwa, author of Everything You Pretend to Know And Are Afraid Someone Will Ask

Sandi Toksvig proves that a guide to manners doesn’t have to be mannered. Finally we have an Emily Post for the 21st century.
— Bill Walsh, author of Lapsing Into a Comma, The Elephants of Style, and Yes, I Could Care Less

The most unpretentious, sensible and genuinely helpful etiquette book I’ve ever read—and by far the funniest.
— Kate Fox, author of Watching the English

An entertaining guide to modern manners, which also uncovers some fascinating details about how our manners have changed through time.
— The Bookseller

The tone is chatty and there are plenty of etiquette-related nuggets here to enhance a reader’s own conversational repertoire.
— The Spectator

Eats, Shoots and Leaves for modern manners.

— The Sunday Times

Sandi Toksvig makes Stephen Fry look like a layabout.
— The Guardian

There are three things you immediately notice about Sandi Toksvig. Her height, her wit and her distinctive voice . . . it’s rip-roaring stuff, and it translates to the page, too.
— Independent on Sunday