Polly Toynbee: what my privileged start in life taught me about the British class system

It wasn’t just luck that steered the Guardian columnist to Oxford and into a media career ... She reflects on the subtle mechanics of class (and an early encounter with a naked future PM)Children know. They breathe it in early, for there’s no unknowing the difference between nannies, cleaners, below-stairs people and the family upstairs. Children are the go-betweens, one foot in each world, and yet they know very well from the earliest age where they belong, where their destiny lies or, to put it crudely, who pays whom. Tiny hands are steeped young in the essence of class and caste. In nursery school, in reception they see the Harry Potter sorting hat at work. They know. And all through school those fine gradations grow clearer, more precise, more consciously knowing, more shaming, more frightening. Good liberal parents teach their children to check their privilege – useful modern phrase – but it swells up like a bubo on the nose. There’s no hiding it.I can summon up the childhood shame at class embarrassments. Aged seven like me, Maureen, with her hair pinned sideways in a pink slide, lived in a pebble-dashed council house by the water tower. They were at the other end of Lindsey, more hamlet than village, half a mile down the road from my father’s pink thatched cottage set in the flat prairie lands of Suffolk, where I spent half my time, the other half in London, shuttling between divorced parents. I envied Maureen for what looked to me like a cheerful large family... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-20 12:00:56 UTC ]
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Gratitude as a Way of Life: PW Talks with Galen Guengerich

Guengerich, a senior minister at New York City’s Unitarian Church of All Souls, sets out to create a modern template for spirituality based on gratitude in 'The Way of Gratitude: A New Spirituality for Today' (Random House, June). Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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British Book Awards 2020: Books of the Year shortlists revealed

The eight shortlists for the British Book Awards have been revealed with heavyweights Margaret Atwood, Bernardine Evaristo, Philip Pullman and David Walliams all in the running for the Book of the Year accolades.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-20 00:59:33 UTC ]
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PRH and Pan Mac lead British Book Awards trade shortlists

Penguin Random House and Pan Macmillan lead the pack among the shortlists for the trade categories of the British Book Awards 2020. Penguin Random House has 17 nominations and Pan Macmillan has 12. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-19 16:38:25 UTC ]
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British Book Awards: Ceremony Postponed, Some Winners Announced

The British Book Awards, while announcing a coronavirus postponement, name some winners and shortlistees in two categories. The post British Book Awards: Ceremony Postponed, Some Winners Announced appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-03-19 16:31:34 UTC ]
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Sam Pink’s ‘Ice Cream Man’ explores life on the fringes

The story collection follows dishwashers, sandwich makers and machine operators going about their days. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-19 14:59:56 UTC ]
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Rowling, Smith and Oliver make British Book Awards '30 from 30' shortlist

JK Rowling, Zadie Smith and Jamie Oliver have made the shortlist for the British Book Awards "30 from 30" trophy that will crown one book the “best” of the past three decades. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-18 13:31:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #british book #jamie oliver #zadie smith #jk rowling


British Book Awards Small Press winners revealed

The nine winners of the regional and country round of the British Book Awards Small Press of the Year accolade have been revealed. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-18 11:49:39 UTC ]
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How Do I Incorporate Short Stories Back Into My Reading Life?

A reader who fell out of love with short story collections ponders how best to make reading short stories part of the routine again. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-03-18 10:39:38 UTC ]
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Penguin Life acquire ‘timely and important’ book about mental health in sport

Penguin Life will publish a "timely and important" book about mental health in sport by Gary Bloom titled Head in the Game.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-17 22:31:22 UTC ]
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Independent bookshops start to close as coronavirus advice comes in

Independent bookshops across the country are closing their doors to protect staff and customers from the coronavirus outbreak. Many indie shops are encouranging customers to support their businesses and place orders online. Delivery services have also been ramped up across the board, with some... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-16 22:52:52 UTC ]
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Europa sells Ferrante's Lying Life audio to PRH

Europa Editions has sold world English language audio rights to Elena Ferrante's latest novel to Penguin Random House Audio.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-13 09:15:04 UTC ]
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Considering Steven Levy and Artificial Life

In this week’s issue, Natasha Singer reviews “Facebook: The Inside Story,” by Steven Levy. In 1992, William Poundstone wrote for the Book Review about “Artificial Life,” Levy’s book about the science and nuance of life creation in silico. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-03-13 09:00:04 UTC ]
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We didn't start the fire: News Corp defends false arson claims that spread worldwide | Weekly Beast

‘We never overplayed the arson story,’ Campbell Reid protests. Plus: Virginia Trioli punches backCampbell Reid came armed with facts and figures to defend the Murdoch empire from accusations of climate denialism.News Corp’s corporate affairs executive was part of a Judith Neilson Institute... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-03-13 02:26:57 UTC ]
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New York Times Magazine’s Pages Come to Digital Life Through Google Partnership

The New York Times Magazine will come to life this weekend in a whole new way. In partnership with Google Lens, smartphone users will be able to access additional information online that corresponds to the print version of the magazine. Readers who hover their smartphones over many of the pages... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-03-12 13:50:26 UTC ]
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Breathing New Life into Old Books: PW Talks with 'The Booksellers' Director D.W. Young

We spoke to the director of a new documentary on the world of antiquarian bookselling about how the movie came about, what the future of the rare book world looks like to him, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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In ‘Short Life in a Strange World,’ paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder help an author make sense of his existence

Toby Ferris traveled across Europe to see all of the Dutch Renaissance painter’s surviving work. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-11 18:07:05 UTC ]
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Life after Facebook: How Brit + Co became profitable after seeing Facebook traffic plummet

After taking a hit with the rest of the digital media industry during the Facebook and Google advertising duopoly, founder Brit Morin is taking a more hands-on and themed approach to creating the site's content to ready the brand for a comeback. The post Life after Facebook: How Brit + Co became... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2020-03-09 04:00:06 UTC ]
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Digiday Publishing Summit Europe Event Briefing: Life after the cookie

At this week’s Digiday Publishing Summit Europe in Dubrovnik, Croatia, publishing executives discussed what life might look like after the third-party cookie and how they are diversifying their revenue streams beyond traditional ads. The post Digiday Publishing Summit Europe Event Briefing: Life... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2020-03-06 05:01:14 UTC ]
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Penguin Life wins five-way auction for The Modern House

Penguin Life has triumphed in a five-way auction to publish The Modern House by design writers and entrepreneurs Matt Gibberd and Albert Hill.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-05 17:45:16 UTC ]
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‘Whistleblower’ and ‘Uncanny Valley’ offer a chilling look at life in Silicon Valley

Two new memoirs reveal harassment, discrimination and intimidation, among other abuses, at large tech companies. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-02 17:47:51 UTC ]
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