The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook: The First Guide To What Really Matters In Life

BARR, Ann & YORK, Peter [160] pp. Ebury Press 1983 Twelfth Impression 8" x 6 3/4" In 1982, The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook, an era-defining little work of humorous social anthropology, became an unlikely chart-topping success. The guide was the brainchild of Ann Barr and Peter York, the features editor and a writer (respectively) for London’s Harpers & Queens magazine. For several years they and their colleagues had been documenting a new breed of upper-middle class Londoner they dubbed the Sloane Ranger. The most famous Sloane of all was Diana, Princess of Wales, who graced the book’s front cover and was awarded the title of "supersloane" in the book: Sloane Rangers typically lived in the Chelsea area of London, near Sloane Square, (hence the name). They weren't aristocrats exactly (though some of them had Earls and Dukes for fathers and uncles), but they belonged to certain families, had been educated at certain schools, had certain jobs, drove certain cars, had country houses decorated just so, and wore a uniform that made them easy to spot.…