The Perfect Gentleman

An 1794 guide to politeness warns that laughter is the “sure sign of a weak mind”—and advises a gentleman how to sit without lounging, or even how to mourn correctly.

Writing with a twinkle in his eye, Ralph Bergengren finds the Perfect Gentleman split between a man of inward character and a polished figure whose manners can be learned from a pocket manual. He rummages through old rules for walking, sitting, and greeting the newly engaged, then sets their ceremonious absurdities against a more enduring ideal of self-command and kindness. In a democracy where nearly every man might claim the title, what, after all, makes someone a gentleman—and can any book teach it?

With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world.

Who are we? We're Cairn Press. Our background is in design, publishing, typography, and technology. These skills fuel our mission to create the highest quality Public Domain eBooks available online, at an affordable price. We give them the treatment they deserve; our proprietary process restores books for a better overall user experience in design, readability, and e-reader compatibility.