>The rememdy is to read all of the Jeeves and Wooster stories by P.G. Wodehouse, all of the short stories of H.H. Munro, all of the works of G.B. Shaw and Oscar Wilde ... that sort of thing.<
Well, i hate to admit this, but given my anti british very anti-posh upbringing, stateside no less, when i first read wodenhouse, i didn't understand it! I had no idea of what they were talking about, and saw no humor. Now Xara might be smarter, or have been exposed to more upper english culture (maybe she has been watching PBS Masterpiece theater for years) but if she didn't follow the thread, she might not follow the books either. They presume you know a bit about upper class english culture and golf. I admit to growing up thinking BloodyBrit was one word-- and Bloody was always tabu at home, except when attached to brit. My mother in paticular seem very reluctant to admit anything from GB was good. The only "good" english writer where really irish (Joyce, Yeats, Swift, Wilde, Shaw...) And good whiskey came from Ireland, Scotland and Canada-- the only alcohol from England was gin, and it was medicial!
But watching-- and pbs did broadcast the Jeeves and Wooster series --blockbuster might have it, or your local public library. and yes, the lovely girls of St Trinians--- but it is sometimes a foriegn language--certainly a foriegn culture.
So forget the reading for a moment Xara, and rent some tapes.
