Bodleian Library the | Akateeminen Kirjakauppa

How should men and women embark on a new relationship? Is it acceptable to flirt? Should one ever kiss in a canoe? What is the ideal age gap for marriage? What gifts are appropriate for a fiancée? How should one announce an engagement? Aimed at the romantically inclined in the 1930s, this charming self-help guide is dedicated to the etiquette of choosing, wooing and winning a prospective partner.



Written with both sexes in mind, this little book is brimming with nuggets of useful advice, by turns humorous, old-fashioned and timeless:



Don’t attempt kissing in a canoe unless you are both able to swim.

Don’t delay falling in love until you have reached middle age.

To be easily won is to be lightly valued.

It is very inadvisable to marry anyone who laughs at your parents.

Don’t hesitate to break off an engagement if you consider you have made a mistake.

Do bear in mind when there’s any mistletoe about that two heads are better than one.



Delightfully illustrated with contemporary line drawings, 'How to be a Good Lover' appears in the same series as 'How to be a Good Husband' and 'How to be a Good Wife'. All three guides were written for the middle classes of the 1930s – who were reading one of the first modern self-help series on relationships.