Simon Raven, The Decline of the Gentleman
Raven, Simon. The Decline of the Gentleman. First Edition. 1962. Book is in very good condition; dust jacket is in very good minus condition—jacket shows a mildly faded spine and a tiny tear to the upper left from cover.
Simon Raven was as known as much for his louche habits as he was for his razor-sharp wit. When he finally died, a good forty years later that might be expected based upon his debauched lifestyle, the Guardian mused that it was “proof the devil looks after his own.” Raven never claimed to be a gentleman, but as this book shows, he wrote about them brilliantly. Here, he explores the origins of the English gentleman, and his 20th Century decline. A cousin of Nancy Mitford’s Noblesse Oblige, this book asserts that the upper class will survive; it is gentility that is in fact dead.
“It has always, for example, been the mark of a gentleman to lend public support to the established religion of his country—however strong his private doubts.”
--Simon Raven