If there is one thing that first-time visitors to England find
mystifying, it is the sense of humor. English humor encompasses a number
of different styles. It can be surreal or satirical, dark or
sophisticated, bawdy or genteel. And nobody does irony or sarcasm like
the English. The various idiosyncrasies of the English character--the
social awkwardness, the constant need to apologize, the weather
obsession, the stiff upper lip, and the love of queuing, to name but a
few--are celebrated inthiscollection of stories, anecdotes, quips, and
quotes featuring English people from all walks of life, from Quentin
Crisp to Frank Skinner and Stephen Hawking to Thora Hird.