The King's English (Oxford Paperbacks) [Paperback]

H. W. Fowler (Author), F. G. Fowler (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198813309 | ISBN-13: 978-0198813309 | Publication Date: October 4, 1973 | Edition: 3

This classic reference work has given generations of students, scholars, and professional writers the answers to problems of grammar and style. Written with the good sense and liveliness that is characteristic of the Fowlers, it "illustrates by living examples, with the name of a reputable authority attached to each, all blunders that observation shows to be common."

Editorial Reviews

Review

`Review from previous edition deserves a garland . . . the most concise and exhaustive study of the English language' Spectator

`such a pleasure to read and so straightforward in its explanations that one concedes all one's errors and aberrations with good grace' Keith Waterhouse, Good Book Guide --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Henry Watson Fowler (1858-1933) and Frank (Francis) George Fowler (1870-1918) were translators, lexicographers, and grammarians. Together they compiled the first edition of the Concise Oxford Dictionary (published 1911) and the Pocket Oxford Dictionary (published in 1924, after Franks' death). Henry Fowler is also the author of Modern English Usage (planned by the two brothers but executed by Henry alone), and the name Fowler has become synonymous with reliable and accurate reference on all aspects of written English.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 3 edition (October 4, 1973)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198813309
• ISBN-13: 978-0198813309
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,680,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prequel to Fowler's "Dictionary of Modern English Usage", December 6, 2001

By 

Brian Melendez (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The King's English (Wordsworth Collection) (Paperback)

If you liked "A Dictionary of Modern English Usage," you will love "The King's English."

For three generations, a single book dominated the market as the authoritative reference in matters of grammar, style, and usage in the English language: "A Dictionary of Modern English Usage" by H.W. Fowler, first published in 1926, now in its third edition (published 1996). Twenty years earlier, however, Fowler and his younger brother F.G. (their given names were Henry Watson and Francis George) had collaborated on a precursor, "The King's English," first published in 1906 (and which went into its third edition a quarter century later, a few years after the first edition of "A Dictionary" appeared).

This book is every bit as charming and graceful as the later "Dictionary" and, while this earlier work covers fewer topics than "Dictionary," it treats the ones that it does cover with as much thoroughness and skill as "Dictionary"--in some cases with more thoroughness, since the book is structured as part essay, part textbook, and can thus afford more examples and exercises than "Dictionary." The book begins by laying out five "general principles" worthy of Strunk and White (whose masterpiece "The Elements of Style" did not appear until half a century later): "Prefer the familiar word to the far-fetched. Prefer the concrete word to the abstract. Prefer the single word to the circumlocution. Prefer the short word to the long. Prefer the Saxon word to the Romance."

The Fowlers expand upon those five "principles," and also treat vocabulary, syntax, punctuation, and other such technical matters in great depth. But amidst these technical chapters they also include a lengthy chapter on "airs and graces," in which they advise the reader about imbuing writing with art.

The Fowlers write with every bit as much elegance, flair, and humor as they advise their readers to use, and their mastery of their subject is unsurpassed. "The King's English" has stood the test of time and, today, a century after its initial publication, it still stands the Fowler brothers with Strunk and White from half a century ago and Bryan Garner of today in the first rank of authors about style and usage in the English language.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An old and worthy chestnut, July 3, 2011

By 

D. Brown "Dave" (Lincoln, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The King's English (Oxford Language Classics) (Paperback)

A classic well worth reading by writers and students. It is purposefully a bit academic so I rated it a 4 not a 5. It was a 5 for me.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars misleading, May 9, 2011

By 

drpsp (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The King's English (1906) (Hardcover)

amazon claims this is a facsimile of the 1906 first edition. It is not. It is a facsimile of the 1908 second edition. Where is the 1906 book?