THE DUCHESS WHO WOULDN’T SIT DOWN: AN INFORMAL HISTORY OF HOSPITALITY
Book ID/图书代码： 02330003B3083
English Summary/英文概要： In this unusual history, the author covers many aspects of hospitality, including the practices of the Romans, the contents of Hitler’s guest rooms, his own daughter’s treatment of her teddy bears, Thanksgiving dinner at his house, and the duchess of the title and why she was unable to sit.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： “動人的……充滿著引人深思的意見。”—— The Economist (經濟學家/雜誌名稱)
虔誠的，詼諧的，附含著驚人的歷史細節，《The Duchess Who Wouldn’t Sit Down》（不隨意就坐的公爵夫人）呈現出對熱情待客藝術的一種全新認知。傑西布朗納通過追溯西方文化，從現今的撲克遊戲，為極度美味的三明治，撇下了身無分文的最佳牌友，到古希臘人，眾神曾根據他們君主的美德，懲罰或是獎賞這些凡人。順便提一下，我們造訪了希特勒的夏季別墅，巴黎的Gertrude Stein（格特魯德•斯坦因/現代主義時期最具試驗性作家），英格蘭的Lady Ottoline Morrell（奧托琳•莫雷爾女士《數學原理》的創作者），19世紀美國的Audubon（奧杜邦/美國鳥類學家、畫家和博物學家），凡爾賽的Louis XIV（路易十四），以及羅馬的皇帝，為準備這些人的經典宴會餐桌款待曾是上佳的受罪過程。作為一場令人愉快的和收益的，受公司青睞的晚宴，《The Duchess Who Wouldn’t Sit Down》（不隨意就坐的公爵夫人）是為任何一位曾接受邀請—或迷惑於自己一直接到邀請的人士一部必讀之書。(Sandy)
Awards/获奖情况：When it comes to the act of entertaining, there’s making do, and then there’s doing more. Long held to be the epitome of no-strings selflessness, true hospitality may become an endangered ideal in an increasingly jaded culture. Viewing such cynicism from an erudite historical perspective, Browner asserts that hospitality has always been about satisfying the needs of the host versus the wants of the guest, though such self-indulgence is not meant to be pejorative. From Epicurus to Audubon, Hitler to Huxley, Browner serves up arcane references to support his hypothesis, tracing the roots of contemporary society’s angst to ancient Greek rituals, for instance. Throughout, he uncovers the scholarly precepts for the conventions of polite society, citing Nero’s egotistical excesses or Gertrude Stein’s celebrated salons to illustrate what works and what doesn’t when it comes to interpersonal interactions. Lyrically recounting a family gathering shortly after the 9/11 tragedies, Browner’s impassioned eloquence and sardonic understatement present a fascinating and factual study of the fine art of being friendly. Carol Haggas---Carol Haggas, From Booklist
當談及待客禮儀之道，因有成功的案例在先，然後有了更多的繁文縟節。待客禮儀長期以來一直被視為不附帶任何條件的無私體現，真正的待客禮儀典範在與日俱增的厭倦文化氛圍下瀕臨滅絕的危險。從一個博學的歷史角度來冷眼旁觀，布朗納堅信待客禮儀一直致力於滿足主人和對客人的需求，儘管這種放任並不意味著對客人的輕視。從Epicurus（伊比鳩魯/古希臘傑出唯物主義和無神論者）到Audubon（奧杜邦/美國鳥類學家、畫家和博物學家），希特勒到Huxley（赫胥黎/生物學家），布朗納提供了一些晦澀難懂的相關資料以支援他的假設，例如，探索當代社會對古代禮儀產生焦慮的根源。橫貫整篇文章，他為上流社會的社交習慣揭示了一個學術的訓詞，援引Nero（尼祿/古羅馬暴君）自我過渡的放縱或是Gertrude Stein（格特魯德•斯坦因）的著名沙龍，來舉例說明當談及人際互動時，什麼時候可行，什麼是不可行， 詩意的敘述了一個家庭在911悲劇發生不久之後的聚會，布朗納那充滿激情的修辭和略帶譏諷的低調陳述呈現了精緻的藝術和對人友善的一種既迷人又真實的禮儀研究報告。---來自書目
About the Author/作者介绍： Jesse Browner is the author of the novels Conglomeros (Random House, 1992), Turnaway (Random House, 1996) and The Uncertain Hour (Bloomsbury, 2007). His The Duchess Who Wouldn’t Sit Down: An Informal History of Hospitality in Western Civilization was published by Bloomsbury in 2003. His latest novel, Everything Happens Today, will be published by Europa Editions in September 2011.
Browner has also translated books by Jean Cocteau, Paul Eluard and Rainer Maria Rilke, as well as Frédéric Vitoux’s award-winning Céline: A Biography. Most recently, he translated Frédéric Mitterrand’s The Bad Life (Soft Skull, 1997).
His freelance writing includes contributions to Nest magazine, Food & Wine, Gastronomica, New York magazine, The New York Times Book Review, and others.
Browner lives in lower Manhattan with his wife and two daughters
Jesse Browner（傑西•布朗納）是《Conglomeros》，《Turnaway》（離開）和《The Uncertain Hour》（不確定的時間）這幾部小說的作者。他的《The Duchess Who Wouldn’t Sit Down: An Informal History of Hospitality in Western Civilization》（不隨意就坐的公爵夫人：在西方文化中一種非正式的古老待客禮儀）曾在2003年由Bloomsbury（英國出版社布魯姆斯伯裡）出版發行。他最近的一部小說，《Everything Happens Today》（今日發生的一切），將由Europa Editions（歐羅巴）出版社在2011年9月份出版。
布朗納還翻譯了Jean Cocteau（讓•科克托/法國著名詩人、劇作家、導演），Paul Eluard（保羅‧艾呂雅/發給詩人）和Rainer Maria Rilke（賴納•馬利亞•里爾克/德國詩人），以及Frédéric Vitoux的系列獲獎作品《Céline: A Biography》（塞琳自傳）。最近一次，他翻譯了Frédéric Mitterrand（密特朗）的《The Bad Life》（糟糕的一生）（1997年版的《Soft Skull》軟骨頭）。
他的自由寫作作品包括為鳥巢雜誌，《Food & Wine》（美酒與美食），《Gastronomica》，紐約雜誌，紐約時報書評等其他報刊雜誌撰稿。
布朗納和他的妻子和兩個女兒住在曼哈頓下城區。
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