This is a perfect reissue from the Bodleian Library, the kind of thing that I wish more often would come my way. It’s fascinating to look back on what is effectively the forerunner of the self-help book today, the “do’s and do not’s” for a successful relationship with a focus on your duties as a husband.

This was always going to tickle my fancy, I do have a streak that yearns for days when men were gentlemen, women were ladies and the way to impress was to look smart and engage with the world from behind a veil of the most perfect manners. If this kind of thing interests you then I really wholeheartedly recommend the fantastic magazine “The Chap” (http://thechapmagazine.co.uk).

Of course the book itself, being from the era it is from, has a wonderful line between showing deference for your wife’s pleasures, and the ingrained sexism of keeping her at home in the first place (although note that you are encouraged to teach your wife to drive!). Covering issues such as home life, socialising, hobbies and managing your work life, nothing is left unturned in the search for marital perfection.

In all honesty this is a brisk read, you will rip through it in an hour. Perhaps it is most useful as a lesson for what has changed between the 1930′s and now. And more importantly, what has remained the same.

Men, be a very good husband to your wife – and remember every day the joys and pleasures that made you marry her in the first place.