15

MONDAY

Charlotte Ford can make no radical claims about her latest etiquette book; like the great social arbiters before her, she maintains that etiquette is, at bottom, a matter of consideration for others, and her approach is entirely common-sensical. What makes 21st-Century Etiquette: Charlotte Ford’s Guide to Manners for the Modern Age new and different is her willingness to confront the kind of problems even we latter-day philistines may be hesitant to ask about: “When a Friend Embarrasses You” (tell him to stop), “Improper Questions” (evade, evade, evade), and “When You Don’t Approve of Your Friend’s Relationship” (stuff it) are all sensitively handled. Plus, she gets guest advice from the likes of Cokie Roberts and Kate Spade (“the splendor of a theater deserves an audience with attire to match—and I’ve always been one for matching”). Ask Ford what the modern age has to do with it when she speaks at 7 p.m. at the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s Hammer Auditorium, 500 17th St. NW. $15. (202) 639-1770. (Caroline Schweiter)