The Canadian Book of Snobs

John D. Blackwell is the reference librarian and collections coordinator
of the Goldfarb Library at Brandeis University in Massachusetts.

Anyone who still naively believes that the typical Canuck is
self-effacing and unpretentious will swiftly be set right by Victoria
Branden’s Canadian Book of Snobs. Although she concedes that it is
“difficult to be a Snob of distinction in Canada,” her idiosyncratic
and satirical examination of this multifaceted phenomenon unearths some
damning evidence that it is thriving in this country. She begins with
the history and theory of snobbery worldwide. Here, she relies on such
distinguished predecessors as William Makepeace Thackeray, Nancy
Mitford, Thorstein Veblen, and Paul Fussell. She then turns to Canadian
applications, or “Post-modern Snobbery,” scrutinizing the sacred
cows of age, ancestors, antiques, art, cars, children, clothes,
education, food, heroes, houses, lawns, literature, pets, religion, sex,
sickness, sports, travel, work, and more.

Canada, it seems, can lay claim to at least one world-class
snob—Pierre Elliott Trudeau (or PET, as Branden prefers). Why? He is
just so accomplished at everything he does, and he follows the cardinal
rule of snobs. “A confident snob,” says Branden, “should not give
a damn about what impression [he’s] giving. If you have to worry about
what other people think, you’re a Failed snob.” Ergo, we have
legions of those.

Branden’s prose is witty, irreverent, entertaining, and literate. Her
critiques of Barbara Amiel, Elizabeth Smart, and Prince Philip (all
classic Badsnobs, according to the author) are stinging. Branden even
provides Snobexercises for aspiring snobs throughout the book (also
study her superb spy-like caricature on the cover). Many of us will
recognize bits of ourselves in these riotously funny pages. Of course,
the people who “need” to read this book probably won’t.

As with all good humor, Branden’s tongue-in-cheek venting against
almost every manifestation of snobbery also has a serious side. She
deplores cruelty, greed, irresponsibility, and hypocrisy—all traits of
Badsnobs. As a gifted writer and the author of In Defence of Plain
English: The Decline and Fall of Literacy in Canada (1992), she also
laments the sad state of our language. Branden takes pride in being a
Wordsnob—one of the few forms of Good Snobbery. She regards most of
the rest as Bad Snobbery, or, as Thackeray would have it, one “who
meanly admires mean things.” The Canadian Book of Snobs, written by
Canada’s snob expert par excellence, is delightful therapy for the
socially challenged and is guaranteed to make one cringe, laugh, and
then think.