The Etiquette of Engagement and Marriage Describing Modern Manners and Customs of Courtship and Marriage by G.R.M. Devereux
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I came across this little piece while browsing wedding-planning tips on my Kindle. The book fancies itself a modern-day guide for the bride and groom (with a slight preference directed at the former) written by someone who grew up writing with the Bronte sisters or Jane Austen. Put simply, this a wedding planner designed like a 200-Level English Literature survey-style college course.
Tips are given throughout every phase of the engagement, from the proposal to after-wedding advice. A few sections also cover weddings in other countries which, although interesting, tend to slow down the narrative. Including the international tips in a separate appendix at the end of the book would have worked much better.
Although written with a British audience in mind, a good amount of the material applies equally well to American audiences. Unfortunately, if you won’t touch Pride and Prejudice with a 10-foot pole you may find the flowery wording too difficult to follow. The writer clearly holds some knowledge about the marriage process, and this knowledge is dispensed with thought-provoking quotes certain to cause debate in book clubs everywhere.
For the low cost of $0 it was a nice quick read (just over 100 pages), but I wouldn’t recommend shelling out shillings for it.
