the british is classy

The appeal of Anglophilia to even the middle class should never be underestimated. I say this on the evidence of a correspondence I once had with a friend of mine, a developer…who built whole new towns at once.

Having run out of names for his streets, he solicited my help. He asked me to supply him with an alphabetical list of classy—that is, British—street names that would attract the eminently middle-class buyers of his houses. Knowing how important this was for the self-respect and even mental health of his clients, I sent him a list immediately, which started like this:

• Albemarle Street
• Berkeley Court
• Cavendish Circle
• Devonshire Way

and his house-buyers would be spared the shame of living on Bernstein Boulevard or Guappo Terrace…and today there’s some poor puzzled fellow wondering why success is so slow in arriving, since for years he’s been residing at 221 Windsor Close instead of living on West Broad Street.

from class by paul fussell (1983).