By Richard Stauffacher Fri, October 3, 2008, 12:01 am PDT

Emily Post in NY, circa 1890 (From Emily Post Institute) Her name is synonymous with good manners and etiquette -- an icon of all that is proper, impeccable, and decorous. She tirelessly advised anyone who sought her guidance on innumerable matters: personal to political; religious to romantic; soup to nuts. Her passion for good taste and superior comportment has continued to burn brightly even after her death: her legacy carried on by relatives and legions of fans who continue to craft and refine her rules of etiquette for the modern age. We speak of Emily Post, the grande dame of gracious living, and a woman who, at least to us, sounds like an insufferable know-it-all. A true lady never reveals her age and, in keeping with that, Emily Price was born into a life of privilege on October 3, 27, or 30, in 1872 or maybe 1873 (depending on the source). Clearly high-maintenance from youth, Emily attended finishing school in New York City and married society banker Edwin Main Post in 1892. The couple divorced in 1905, however, as a result of Edwin's significantly less-than-polite affair with a stripper. Emily needed money and turned to writing newspaper articles, light fiction, and humorous travel books until the watershed moment in 1922 when her book "Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home" was published. It was an instant bestseller, went through ten revisions and 89 printings, and firmly cemented her reputation as great big wisenheimer. She devoted her life to making lazy, unmannered slobs feel like hell for behaving like imbecilic morons. Unsure about which utensils to use for cream-filled desserts, or how to secure a lost strand of spaghetti? Emily Post can set your ignorant self straight. Wonder what "festive attire" means? Ask Emily, you half-wit. Table manners need tuning? Emily's there, to remind you of your errors. Forget to wipe your sweat off the treadmill at the gym? Emily will school your ass. To be honest, this broad sounds like a real drag -- of course, that's just our admittedly uncouth opinion, but at least we're not alone. Suggested Sites... The Emily Post Institute - Emily Post's legacy continues with advice, books, articles, seminars, and discussions on etiquette for the way we live today. Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home - online version of Emily Post's seminal 1922 work. What Would Emily Post Do? - Anna Post, the great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post, blogs on matters of modern etiquette. YouTube: Arthur and Agnes - Jackie Gleason and Alice Ghostly discuss relationship etiquette according to Emily Post in this classic sketch. Etiquette Hell - archive of stories submitted by everyday people tired of the selfish, rude antics of their fellow man.

Directory categories: Emily Post, Etiquette, Netiquette, Wedding Etiquette, Cell Phone Etiquette

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