Malory's Morte Darthursurvives in two versions: the Winchester manuscript, which has been dated 1469-70, and the edition Caxton published in 1485. These versions were thought to be collaterally related through a common source to an original lost manuscript, until in 1977 new evidence suggested a linear descent. Dr Tieken-Boon van Ostade's study supports this argument, first through a detailed refutation of Vinaver's arguments for collateral descent, then through an analysis of the incidence of multiple negation in both versions of the Morte Darthurand the conclusions to be drawn from it. A...

The book offers insight into the publication history of eighteenth-century English grammars in unprecedented detail. It is based on a close analysis of various types of relevant information: Alston's bibliography of 1965, showing that this source needs to be revised urgently; the recently published online database Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) with respect to sources of information never previously explored or analysed (such as book catalogues and library catalogues); Carol Percy's database on the reception of eighteenth-century grammars in contemporary periodical...

This spirited account of the life and times of one of the seminal figures in history of English grammar dispels the myth of Lowth as the icon of prescriptivism, and establishes him as the most important figure in eighteenth-century English grammar.
Ingrid Tiecken-Boon van Ostade reexamines the life and work of Robert Lowth (1710-1787), founder of the grammatical prescriptivism so deprecated by modern linguists and educational theorists. She considers Lowth and his grammar in the context of his times and from the perspective of his aims and readership. She shows that, once the grammar had...

Along with Shakespeare, Jane Austen (1775-1817) can be said to be the most widely studied author in the history of English literature. But unlike Shakespeare, her language has received little scholarly attention. This is especially true for the language of her letters. Jane Austen's letters, mostly addressed to her sister Cassandra but to various other people as well, have been described as the equivalent of telephone conversations, and if you read them, you can almost hear her speak. We do not have access to actual speech from the time in which she lived, but the letters take us as close to...

This volume explores both historical and current issues in English usage guides or style manuals. Chapters look at how and why these guides are compiled, and by whom; what sort of advice they contain; how they differ from grammars and dictionaries; and how attitudes to usage have changed.