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Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating, and Marriage

When the dating gets tough, the tough go to the book store and buy an advice manual. My money’s on Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating, and Marriage: Classic Advice for Contemporary Dilemmas. Calling upon the wisdom of the ages (her collection of 1,000 advice books published between 1822 and 1978), Miss Abigail (otherwise known as Abigail Grotke) answers your questions, adding twenty-first century commentary for good measure.

You might need that contemporary perspective, because my reaction to some of the advice from her collection ranged from “oh, how quaint” to “things haven’t changed that much” to “it’s time to go out and starting burning our bras again!.” Of course, sometimes I just had to laugh: “Have you ever felt like a young aviator going out to test his spurs?” Apparently the mixing of metaphors was more acceptable back in 1937.

Miss Abigail does not act superior. Not only does she present the quizzes from advice manuals gone by, she even shares her own scores with the reader. You don’t feel so bad for scoring badly when Miss Abigail admits having done even worse. I mean, who knew that wearing a thrift shop dress to a party was Taboo, or that being conservative in your politics would contribute to your popularity?

Maybe the answer to your problem isn't in this book, but you'll have fun looking for it, and learn a little social history at the same time. I even learned a new word: bumptious. You might even know someone who is bumptious.