Ladies’ Book of Etiquette is inspired by a TV show called “Aussie Ladette To Lady,” a series that follow a group of ladettes, who are given an old-fashioned five week course in learning how to behave like a traditional “lady.” Under five different instructors, the girls are given various tasks in deportment, flower arranging, etiquette, cookery, and go through a weekly elimination to stay with the program.
The book contains screenshots and quotes from the show that run counter to each other, and eventually implies a juxtaposed viewpoint of the teachers and the girls. It also reveals how every character, including the teachers, fails to live up to “lady.” The teachers raise their voices most of the time during the show, and the girls just can’t seem to reach ladylike perfection.
