It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
How to be a Brit

How to be a Brit

The hilariously accurate, witty and indispensable manual for everyone longing to attain True Britishness

Summary

The hilariously accurate, witty and indispensable manual for everyone who longs to attain True Britishness

'Got me in tears of laughter' 5***** Reader Review
'Laugh-out-loud hilarious, witty and insightful' 5***** Reader Review
_______

Born in Hungary, George Mikes eventually spent more than forty years in the Britain observing behaviours and misbehaviours of local and foreign Brits.

With essential chapters such as "How to Avoid Travelling", "On Shopping", "In Praise of Television", "On Not Complaining" and "How to Panic Quietly", you'll get to know Britain like never before.

Loved by readers and authors alike, How to Be a Brit contains Mikes's three major works -- How to be an Alien, How to be Inimitable and How to be Decadent.

If you're British, you'll love it; if you're a foreigner, you'll appreciate it.

Queuing: "An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one."

How to plan a town:
"Street names should be painted clearly and distinctly on large boards. Then hide these boards carefully."

Sex:
"Continental people have sex lives: the English have hot water bottles."

George Mikes's perceptive bestseller provides a complete guide to the British Way of Life.
_______

'Hilarious and informative essays about the British way of life' 5***** Reader Review

'So many people have tried to describe the English mentality . . . This book is as near as you can get!' 5***** Reader Review

Reviews

  • In all the miseries which plague mankind, there is hardly anything better than such radiant humour as is given to you. Everyone must laugh with you - even those who are hit with your little arrows.
    Albert Einstein to George Mikes

About the author

George Mikes

George Mikes (pronounced 'me-cash'), was born in Hungary 1912. In 1938 he moved to London to become the correspondent for a Hungarian newspaper, and then he never left. A keen observer of the behaviour and misbehaviour of foreigners and natives in Britain, he is frequently cited by later authors including Kate Fox and Jeremy Paxman. He died in London in 1987.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more