This essential guide explores how etiquette is defined by consideration and respect, while putting good manners back at the centre of our priorities.

Modern life is full of minor but acute dilemmas: we get stuck at a gathering with someone unusually boring and wonder how to move on without causing offence; in the course of introducing one friend to another, we realise that we have forgotten one of the party’s names; we run into an ex while on an early date with a new partner; we spill red wine across a host’s sofa...

Such dilemmas might – at one level – seem desperately insignificant. But they actually belong to some of the largest and most serious themes in social existence: how can you pursue our own agenda for happiness while at the same time honouring the sensitivities and wishes of others; how can you convey goodwill with sincerity; how can you be kind without being supine or sentimental?

It is often confusing to know how to act around others and navigate social situations. This book features twenty case-studies on common social dilemmas and our possible responses to them, contributing to a new and original philosophy of graceful conduct.