Synopses & Reviews
This poignant biography of H.W. Fowler is the first full account of his life ever published. Based on meticulous research into previously unpublished letters and the Oxford University Press archives, this book brings to life a complex yet fascinating man. Jenny McMorris explores the dogged work and the flurry of controversy and critical contention surrounding Fowler's work on
The King's English and
Modern English Usage. But McMorris also illuminates Fowler the man, who helped raise seven siblings, abandoned a prestigious post as schoolmaster to write in a cottage by the sea, and found true love and a devoted marriage at 50. Though considered a god among lexicographers, Fowler was self-deprecating to the point of sending money back to Oxford University Press when he felt he had been overpaid. And he coped calmly in the face of tragedy, writing cheerful letters days after losing an eye, and energetically nursing his wife through a fatal illness.
Painstakingly thorough and delightfully readable, The Warden of English takes us inside the world of early twentieth-century literary publishing, as it chronicles the life of a giant of lexicography.
"As admirable as its deeply admirable subject."--The Washington Post Book World.
Review
"A generous, sympathetic biography of a shy scholar (1858-1933) whose Modern English Usage (1926) earned him a prominent place in the pantheon of language mavens.... An amiable account of a gentle man whose greatest love was language."--
Kirkus Reviews"McMorris illuminates not only Fowler's life but also his work and the difficulties and controversies that surrounded it...McMorris' well-researched book will appeal to the same audience...as Simon Winchester's Professor and the Madman."--Booklist
Review
"A generous, sympathetic biography of a shy scholar (1858-1933) whose Modern English Usage (1926) earned him a prominent place in the pantheon of language mavens.... An amiable account of a gentle man whose greatest love was language."--Kirkus Reviews
"McMorris illuminates not only Fowler's life but also his work and the difficulties and controversies that surrounded it...McMorris' well-researched book will appeal to the same audience...as Simon Winchester's Professor and the Madman."--Booklist
Synopsis
On the 75th anniversary of the publication of "Modern English Usage, " McMorris re-creates the life of the book's author, lexicographer Henry Watson Fowler.
About the Author
Jenny McMorris is the Archivist for the Oxford English Dictionaries at Oxford University Press.
Table of Contents
Introduction
List of Plates
Family Tree
Preface, Simon Winchester (*provisional*)
1. Main text Beginnings
2. Dura Virum Nutrix
3. The Hermit of Chelsea
4. An Island Home
5. No Levell'd Malice
6. The Quart and the Pint Pot
7. A Marvel of Condensation
8. This Heartrending Time
9. In France with the Sportsmen
10. Partings full of Pain
11. A Dumpy little Book
12. A Heterodox Expert
13. A Fascinating, Formidable Book
14. A New Manner of Life
15. Deaths and Other Such Inconveniences
Notes
Bibliography
Chronology
Index