The King's English : A Guide to Modern Usage

Book Description: St. Martin's Press, 1998. Hardcover. Book Condition: New. Flawless copy, brand new, pristine, never opened -- 270 pages. From the publisher: "Throughout his notable career as a novelist, poet, and literary critic, Kingsley Amis was often concerned--the less understanding might say obsessed--with the use and abuse of the English language. Do we know what the words we employ really mean? Do we have the right to use them if we don't? Should an 'exciting' new program be allowed to 'hit' your television screen? When is it acceptable to split an infinitive? And just when is one allowed to begin a sentence with 'and'? The enemies of fine prose may dismiss such issues as tiresome and pedantic, but Kingsley Amis, like all great novelists, depended upon these very questions to separate the truth from the lie, both in literature and in life. A Parthian shot from one of the most important figures in postwar British fiction, this volume represents Amis's last word on the state of the language. More frolicsome than Fowler's Modern Usage, lighter than the Oxford English Dictionary, and replete with the strong opinions that have made Amis so popular--and so controversial--this book is essential for anyone who cares about the way English is spoken and written." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Bookseller Inventory # 79799