The Art of Timeless Étiquette, Graceful Dining Manners, & Afternoon Tea: Étiquette Series, Volume IV

From the description I expected more photographs -- and pictures that represented ways tea (and maybe other meals) were served by different people at different times. These illustrations focused on the author's personal collection, sometimes repeating the same items in different configurations. She seems to use (very attractive) flower arrangements to compensate for a lack of variety in settings and objects. The text is prescriptive: there is only one way of doing things correctly. These hallowed traditions are well-described. However, the reality is that taking tea has evolved over the centuries. Ways of serving both traditional and contemporary (or 20th century) experimental approaches would have offered more to think about. Gossipy notes about various celebrities and historical person's taste in tea -- that sort of thing -- would have made the book more entertaining.I really expected to see a bigger range of tea services and of, for example, porcelain manufacturers. What was popular then? What is popular now? This author presents herself as an expert and, although much of the information she supplies isn't the most common knowledge, it is on the generic side.

This is a great book to learn more about manners or brush up on your etiquette skills. I also enjoyed reading about the customs and history of the various aspects involving etiquette. The book also encourages you to take a little more effort with your meal presentation, and there were lovely pictures to encourage you to dress up your table...make it festive...use the nice China...add beautiful flowers. I look forward to hosting an elegant tea as soon as we are able to get back into the swing of things!