Revealed: The 39 Steps to Being a Modern Lady

To older generations, good manners and graciousness might have come as second nature to any lady.

A new guide spelling how to be ladylike may come as something of a surprise, then, after it advised knowing how to gut a fish, offering to split the bill – but letting a man take charge in the end.

The 39 rules (listed below), published by Country Life as a follow-up to their much-publicised How To Be a Gentleman, claims a good woman should now know never to boast on Facebook, eschew make-up on the school run, and learning how to “deflect a lecher with grace”.

It argues key skills include saying thank you in any language, silencing a man with one look, and knowing that “brevity is the soul of lingerie”.

Crippled America: How ... Donald J. Trump Best Price: $1.48 Buy New $8.97 (as of 03:40 UTC - Details) In this week’s editorial, Country Life said: “We’ve heard all about the criteria that make a gentleman and our list —part serious, part tongue-in-cheek— seemed to strike such a chord in a society that desperately needs to be kinder to itself that we felt it was only fair to present the female view, too.

“The central principle is the same—generosity and graciousness are more important than fine feathers and a lady can come from any walk of life—but there’s one key difference: a capable lady knows when to let her gentleman take charge (or let him think so).”

Among their 39 steps includes preferring Mr Knightley to Mr Wickham among Jane Austen’s heroines, enjoying rugby and cricket without necessarily knowing the rules, and excelling at “making love, lasagne and long gin and tonics”.

While emphasising physical sills including handing a sportscar, deadheading a rose and the ability to “paunch a rabbit and pluck a pheasant”, it also advises a modicum of gender equality: “Teaching her son to iron his shirts and her daughter to change a fuse.”

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