The Young Mans Companion

The Young Man’s Companion (1973) by Edward Turner, published by Hugh Evelyn (ISBN: 0238787915), is one of those books with a title so confidently paternal it practically clears its throat before it begins. A “companion,” no less — as if it’s going to walk beside the young man, hand lightly on his elbow, steering him away from poor decisions and towards correct posture.

And the irony is that 1973 is an outstanding year to try to define what a “young man” is supposed to be. Britain is changing; culture is loosening; old certainties are wobbling; the modern world is arriving with loud trousers and strong opinions. Into this comes a book that implies there is, in fact, a sensible handbook for becoming a proper chap. It’s charmingly bold. Slightly doomed. Possibly very funny — sometimes deliberately, sometimes by accident.

Depending on the contents (and books like this tend to cover a lot of ground), you can expect the sort of brisk, well-meaning guidance that assumes adulthood is a thing you can assemble from practical knowledge and good habits: manners, conversation, appearance, money, work, social life, perhaps a dash of “how to behave” in various situations. These books often read like a combination of older-world etiquette and general life competence — the kind of advice that sounds obvious until you realise how many people still need it, and how much of it has quietly drifted out of fashion.

There’s something oddly comforting about that genre: the belief that life is manageable if you learn the rules, and that the rules can be written down in one place. That you can be coached into confidence, respectability, and social ease like you’re revising for a practical exam in being human.

But the best bit — the truly delicious part — is reading it now. Because the “young man” of 1973 is a historical creature, and this book will inevitably reveal what the era considered essential: what mattered, what was expected, what was feared, and what was quietly assumed. It becomes less a manual and more a cultural snapshot. A time capsule of respectable anxieties. A guide to “how to be” that accidentally tells you what people thought might go wrong if you weren’t.

And in that sense, it’s a splendid Crappy Old Books item: not just a book, but a piece of social archaeology. You can almost hear the voice: calm, helpful, faintly stern, and very keen on the idea that you should write a thank-you letter.

This copy is in Good condition as sold by Crappy Old Books, making it ideal for:

• collectors of vintage etiquette and “how to” books

• anyone who enjoys social history in its most practical disguise

• readers who like a bit of gentle, old-fashioned guidance (or ironic amusement)

• people who suspect adulthood should have come with instructions and are still annoyed it didn’t

Whether you read it sincerely, skeptically, or purely for the period charm, The Young Man’s Companion offers something rare: the promise that life can be navigated with a little knowledge, a little discipline, and a very tidy idea of what “proper” looks like.

A companion for the young man.
And a delightful curiosity for everyone else.

Keep browsing: See more Self-Help books Other books by Edward Turner