December 2009 Good Housekeeping selection.

‘I have met a boy I like very much but he has a very odd surname….He has asked me to go steady with him but I can’t help thinking my married name would be Mrs Gotobed if we got married. Am I silly?’  Luckily Valentine magazine came to the rescue of this anxious 60s singleton with the reassurance of not to worry, it is a ‘very old and well-connected English name’.

Spanning a century (1850-1950) of Dear…whoever agony aunts from a host of women’s magazines, this collection of earnest queries and unequivocal advice on everything from rebellious teenagers and shyness to the importance of doing rolling exercises on the floor and dealing with cads and bounders (and any overlap there might be between the two). A nice bit of socio-historical fun.

Synopsis

A collection of the funniest – and most bizarre – agony aunts' advice from the 1850s to the 1960s

Dear Ta-ra-ra,
It surprises us to find that a girl sufficiently educated to write and spell well should be so deplorably ignorant of the common rules of society to think that she may go out alone with a young man in his canoe.
Girl's Own Paper, 1895
* * * *
Never Kiss a Man in a Canoe is a fascinating glimpse into our social past and harks back to a time when agony aunts played a pivotal role in society, advising men and women on love, sex, relationships and other taboo subjects.

From advice on the immorality of reading a crime novel or riding a bicycle to Sunday school, to tips on beauty, etiquette and how to make a boy into a man, this wonderful book is a slap in the face for everyone accustomed to the politically correct advice of today, and is a tribute to the manners of the past that will make you grateful times have moved on.

About the Author

Tanith Carey first came across the curious world of agony aunts as Woman's Editor of the Daily Mirror. She now writes regularly for a huge range of national newspapers and women's magazines, including the Daily Mail and The Independent.  Tanith is also a former Consumer Journalist of the Year, New York correspondent and was nominated for the UKPG Scoop of the Year for her investigative journalism. Never Kiss a Man in Canoe is her fourth book. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation