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In taking soup do not gurgle or make throat noises. Speak well of others or not at all is a good rule. 'The Art of Good Manners' covers such topics as table manners, pronunciation, introductions, conversation, courtship and children’s behaviour. It guides the reader in appropriate behaviour during each course at a dinner party and warns of possible pitfalls – ‘to peel an orange, apple or pear with a fruit knife and fork requires some practice’ – as well as explaining how a gentleman is expected to behave when ladies are present.

'The Art of Letter Writing' gives over fifty examples of the perfect letter for any occasion. Unsure how to break off an engagement, accept an invitation to a country house weekend, complain about a courier or write to a countess? This book contains numerous elegant and nuanced examples covering every possible social scenario. Filled with timeless advice and charming historical detail, this book is the perfect gift for anyone who ever struggled to write a letter, offering encouragement and amusement alike.

When American troops arrived in Paris to help maintain order at the end of the Second World War they were, at first, received by the local population with a sense of euphoria. However, the French soon began to resent the Americans for their display of wealth and brashness, while the US soldiers found the French and their habits irritating and incomprehensible. To bridge the cultural divide, the American generals came up with an innovative solution. They commissioned a surprisingly candid book which collated the GIs’ ‘gripes’ and reproduced them with answers aimed at promoting understanding of the French and their country. The ‘gripes’ reveal much about American preconceptions: ‘The French drink too much’, ‘French women are immoral’, ‘The French drive like lunatics!’, ‘The French don’t bathe’, ‘The French aren’t friendly’ are just some of the many complaints. Putting the record straight, the answers cover topics as diverse as night-clubs, fashion, agriculture and sanitation. They also offer an unusual insight into the reality of daily life immediately after the war, evoking the shortage of food and supplies, the acute poverty and the scale of the casualties and destruction suffered by France during six years of conflict. Illustrated with delightfully evocative cartoons and written in a direct, colloquial style, this gem from 1945 is by turns amusing, shocking and thought-provoking in its valiant stand against prejudice and stereotype.

The art of being a good husband is not an easy one. This little guide was written for the middle classes of the 1930s who were reading one of the first modern self-help books. Illustrated with contemporary line-drawings, it contains advice by turns delightfully arcane and timelessly true, for example: Don’t squeeze the tube of toothpaste from the top instead of from the bottom. This is one of the small things of life that always irritates a careful wife. Don’t think that your wife has placed waste-paper baskets in the rooms as ornaments. Don’t tell your wife terminological inexactitudes, which are, in plain English, lies. A woman has wonderful intuition for spotting even minor departures from the truth. Do cultivate the habit of coming down to breakfast with a smile. Remember that as the head of the house, it is your duty to see that everyone starts the day in an atmosphere of happiness. Don’t criticise the food at your own table when you are entertaining and especially refrain from doing so before the servants.

Nine-and-a-half months after D-Day, 30,000 British troops crossed the Rhine as part of the Allied assault on Germany. Two years earlier, work had already started on a guide to assist them in negotiating everyday life in what then was still enemy territory. This extraordinary document was intended to educate soldiers on a range of topics, including German history, the national character, politics, culture, food and drink, currency, and to explain the current situation, including the effect of war on Germany and the German attitudes to the British. It was also intended to condition them to resist the effect of German propaganda by means of a healthy dose of British propaganda. The result is a remarkable booklet, often unintentionally humorous and sometimes crudely stereotypical, it reads by turns like a travel guide (advising on the excellence of German sausages and beer – ‘one of the pleasantest in Europe’) and a crash course in psychological warfare. It is very much a document of the period, revealing as much about British wartime attitudes towards Germany as it does about British hopes and fears. ‘If you have to give orders to German civilians, give them in a firm, military manner. The German civilian is used to it and expects it.’ ‘The Germans are not good at controlling their feelings. They have a streak of hysteria. You will find that Germans may often fly into a passion if some little thing goes wrong.’ ‘Don’t be too ready to listen to stories told by attractive women. They may be acting under orders.’

Taking its title from Howard Carter's famous description of his first glimpse of the treasures of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, this book offers a timeless portrait of highlights representing the range of the Bodleian Library's unique collections.