Emily Post

Really fascinating story of Emily Post's life. Interestingly, the thing Mrs. Post is most known for – her work on etiquette – came late in her life, but she was rather well-accomplished for a woman of her time before that. She also did some minor work in design and architecture as well as fiction writing.

While Post seems like she was a pleasant woman, she also seems really vapid and silly at points in her life. Her political views were very under-developed and I don't think she spent much time really thinking through deeper philosophical ideas that informed some of her work. But she was really a product of her age.

One notable thing from the book: I really like her approach to etiquette and manners, which was not rigid at all, but flexible and evolved with the changing mores of society. Contrary to popular notions of manners and etiquette, she emphasized making social interactions smooth and comfortable over rules and formality.