The Gentlemen is an endangered species, his natural habitats of the club, the barbers, and the smoker's paradise corner shop increasingly rare. This, then, is the manifesto for the survival of a quintessentially English species: The Chap.
Including a celebration of the epitomes of the chap - from Montesquiou to Terry-Thomas - and revealing the subtle nuances of a gentleman's semiotics of smoking and trouser semaphore, 'The Chap Manifesto' is a rallying point for the classic bloke beleaguered in postmodern confusion, a cri de coeur from the manly bosom, a hail-well-met to gentlemen of all pinstripes.
Being a gentleman is not just about motoring, smoking and gambling, but it's important to master those basics before moving on consumptive cosmetics and enemas for pleasure. Topped off by the full range of implements required by the anarcho-dandy tool kit, the book - racily illustrated throughout - even contains a little something for the ladies.
In the tradition of Mao's 'Red Book', Marx's 'Manifesto For The Communist Party' the book is a rallying cry: Gentlemen of the world unite - you have exquisite manners to maintain!
