The King's English (volume 1)

By H. W. ; Fowler. F. G. Fowler

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• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: B06XGPH5GJ
• Release Date: January 1938
• Publisher: Clarendon Press
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Shall you be there? “Learned from Lord Peter Wimsey”.

“This edition is a modern reprint with a metadata error. The King’s English by H. W. Fowler & F. G. Fowler was never published as a multi‑volume work; all legitimate editions are single‑volume. The ‘volume 1’ label is an artifact of the reprint metadata, not part of the original publication.” When I tackled the university, they told me not to waste time with grammar classes as it would be picked up naturally while writing essays. So, I learned the finer points from Ogden Nash. This book is good for filling in the proper English that did not need to be overlooked at the university. Much better than grammar, this book gives not only the how but the why when conversing. On the nature of Shall and Will – “It is unfortunate that the idiomatic use, while it comes by nature to southern Englishmen (who will find most of this section superfluous), is so complicated that those who are not to the manner born can hardly acquire it; and for them, the section is in danger of being useless.” The only problem I have is with a section on Americanism. “There is a real danger of our literature being Americanized, and that not nearly in details of vocabulary – which we are all that we are here directly concerned with – but in the general tone.” After reading, see if anyone notices that your English has changed shape.