The Party Blonde: Social Stereotypes from the Telegraph Magazine - Couverture rigide

You'll recognize them immediately. You've come across them yourself or seen them in the papers: Hussein the minicab driver who drives a smelly H-reg Sierra and has a wonderful new short cut to Heathrow that takes twice as long as the normal route; Andrew and Leonora, the smug couple, with their helicopter and their housekeeper and their brilliantly successful children Nicholas and Flora; steely American businessman Crawford Nemesis III, sent from New York to restructure Worldcorp's London office and given to lecturing his fellow dinner guests on the importance of competitive recreation. And of course, Tiffany Zeitgeist, the party blonde, who sprang to fame by wearing a fake-fur thong at a film premiere and who now has a weekly tabloid column which she dictates on her mobile.;In this cathartic new collection of deliciously detailed social sketches, Victoria Mather and Sue Macartney Snape have English society, from top to bottom, off to a T. Perfect for the loo or the guest-room. Or slip it into your pocket to read under the table as Crawford drones boringly on.

Phew! What a relief. Obviously Victoria and Sue are keeping 'The Ageing Sports Presenter' up their haute couture sleeves for the moment. Those who are included have once again been drawn and quartered with customary brilliance. (Desmond Lynam)

Give this book to any friend or enemy. Both will howl over the prose and illustrations that brilliantly nail every last pretension. I found my worst qualities on pp. 17 and 69 while longing to be a p.48. (Barbara Amiel)