The Wicked Wit of England

If there is one thing that first-time visitors to England find mystifying, it is the sense of humor. English humor encompasses a number of different styles. It can be surreal or satirical, dark or sophisticated, bawdy or genteel. And nobody does irony or sarcasm like the English. The various idiosyncrasies of the English character—the social awkwardness, the constant need to apologize, the weather obsession, the stiff upper lip, and the love of queuing, to name but a few—are celebrated inthiscollection of stories, anecdotes, quips, and quotes featuring English people from all walks of life, from Quentin Crisp to Frank Skinner and Stephen Hawking to Thora Hird. 

Geoff Tibballs is the editor of The Mammoth Book of Humor.