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Her Ladyship's Guide to the Queen's English
Her Ladyship's guide to speaking and writing better English. Wherever you are, whatever the company, good English will always stand you in good stead. The world's most important language has a number of difficult areas and pitfalls, and almost all of us have some area to improve, whether it's how to spell 'millennium', how to pronounce 'schedule' the English way (as opposed to the American way), or find the correct word for the 'toilet' when talking to bishops and barons. Her Ladyship's Guide quickly takes you through the major problem areas. It common mistakes in grammar (which will belie a lowly upbringing), common misspellings, commonly misused words, and the all-important choice of words and phrases to use in posh society with a pronunciation guide.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2010
25 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Caroline Taggart
76 books124 followersI was an editor for 30 years before Michael O’Mara Books asked me to write what became I Used to Know That. I think its success took everyone by surprise – it certainly did me – but it led to my writing a lot of other books and finally, after about three years, feeling able to tell people I was an author. It's a nice feeling.
Until recently the book I was most proud of was The Book of London Place Names (Ebury), partly because I am passionate about London and partly because, having written ten or so books before that, I finally felt I was getting the hang of it.
Now I have to confess I’m really excited by my first venture into continuous narrative. For A Slice of Britain: around the country by cake (AA) I travelled the country investigating, writing about and eating cake. From Cornish Saffron Cake to Aberdeen Butteries, I interviewed about 25 people who are baking cakes, biscuits and buns that are unique to their region, part of their heritage – and pretty darned delicious. The Sunday Times reviewed it and described me as ‘engaging, greedy and droll’, which pleased me enormously.
Until recently the book I was most proud of was The Book of London Place Names (Ebury), partly because I am passionate about London and partly because, having written ten or so books before that, I finally felt I was getting the hang of it.
Now I have to confess I’m really excited by my first venture into continuous narrative. For A Slice of Britain: around the country by cake (AA) I travelled the country investigating, writing about and eating cake. From Cornish Saffron Cake to Aberdeen Butteries, I interviewed about 25 people who are baking cakes, biscuits and buns that are unique to their region, part of their heritage – and pretty darned delicious. The Sunday Times reviewed it and described me as ‘engaging, greedy and droll’, which pleased me enormously.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 15 reviews
June 1, 2015
Basic and simple but quite useful especially if English is not your native language. It's a very pretty book as well, nothing garish to look at like most grammar/English books you'll find.
January 17, 2020
To quote my Maternal Grandfather (tongue planted firmly in cheek): "The Queen's English like wot it is spoke."
It didn't take me very long to realise that I was holding a somewhat humourous version of something similar to my old Secondary School & University text books. This volume brought back a wealth of memories from my past. I think my former English mistress and my profs would be proud that I can still soak up knowledge like this and hopefully, retain it.
Important considerations such as pronunciation and spelling play huge role in the narrative; I do attempt to be as accurate as possible in both speech and writing. I was very pleased to note the inclusion of what is, without a doubt, the most horrendous "non-word" in common use today; to whit: "irregardless!" What a contemptible mash up of two words that actually mean something into something that means absolutely nothing. At best, it cancels itself out. It puts me in mind of people who, around Thanksgiving or Christmas, tell you that they must get home to "de-thaw" the turkey. I was also happy for the addition of the word "nuclear" and some of its many mispronunciations. The one I come up against most often is "new-cue- ler." It makes me want to cringe.
Even though I live in Canada, I will hold my thoughts on 'Americanisms' with one exception: place names. During the Duke of Sussex's meeting with Her Majesty, a generally well respected National News reader here called the meeting the "Sandring-HAM Summit." Shudder!
So, I give my thanks to Caroline Taggart and of course, Her Ladyship, for this very informative and educational tome.
It didn't take me very long to realise that I was holding a somewhat humourous version of something similar to my old Secondary School & University text books. This volume brought back a wealth of memories from my past. I think my former English mistress and my profs would be proud that I can still soak up knowledge like this and hopefully, retain it.
Important considerations such as pronunciation and spelling play huge role in the narrative; I do attempt to be as accurate as possible in both speech and writing. I was very pleased to note the inclusion of what is, without a doubt, the most horrendous "non-word" in common use today; to whit: "irregardless!" What a contemptible mash up of two words that actually mean something into something that means absolutely nothing. At best, it cancels itself out. It puts me in mind of people who, around Thanksgiving or Christmas, tell you that they must get home to "de-thaw" the turkey. I was also happy for the addition of the word "nuclear" and some of its many mispronunciations. The one I come up against most often is "new-cue- ler." It makes me want to cringe.
Even though I live in Canada, I will hold my thoughts on 'Americanisms' with one exception: place names. During the Duke of Sussex's meeting with Her Majesty, a generally well respected National News reader here called the meeting the "Sandring-HAM Summit." Shudder!
So, I give my thanks to Caroline Taggart and of course, Her Ladyship, for this very informative and educational tome.
June 15, 2019
This book is a really nice guide to learn basic pronunciation, spelling and manners that are used by British native speakers. It explains the differences between American and British English and is useful if one wants to speak English in a more British native speaker way rather than a more 'universal' English.
My rating goes more to evaluating the book as a guide and not as how much I enjoyed it. There were sections (as the spelling one) that I found kind of 'boring' if one is just reading this guide to learn how to speak properly the British English rather than to write it, or if you are interested in both but you don't really take the time to put into practice this spelling rules, as I wasn't, as my reading was more in a speaking way.
Overall, I think it is really well written and it covers a wide range of important things in the English language.
My rating goes more to evaluating the book as a guide and not as how much I enjoyed it. There were sections (as the spelling one) that I found kind of 'boring' if one is just reading this guide to learn how to speak properly the British English rather than to write it, or if you are interested in both but you don't really take the time to put into practice this spelling rules, as I wasn't, as my reading was more in a speaking way.
Overall, I think it is really well written and it covers a wide range of important things in the English language.
April 14, 2020
A concise and easy to follow guide to the finer points of English usage. This guide is unusual in that the emphasis is on clarity of communication than on following traditional grammar rules.
This guide could be useful for writers wanting to give their characters distinctive speech characteristics as it gives plenty of examples of common errors both committed by the poorly educated and by those pretending to be more knowledgeable than they actually are.
This guide could be useful for writers wanting to give their characters distinctive speech characteristics as it gives plenty of examples of common errors both committed by the poorly educated and by those pretending to be more knowledgeable than they actually are.
June 30, 2020
How do u do?
How do u do.
How do u do.
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November 29, 2022Highfalutin, snobbish, and outdated. But fun.
January 13, 2015
Purchased this book thinking it was a humour book, however I was not disappointed as it did teach me about grammar and the english language. I would recommend this one to people who use English as a second language as it is called one of the most difficult in the world today. Hopefully this book will help those learning grasp the language more clearly.
January 27, 2013
I'm extremely meticulous and careful with the way I speak and use English and this book does enough to satisfy my need for correctness that I don't find everyday when I hear or read other people. It has everything I'd tell others and everything I'd like to keep as a reminder for myself. Loved it!
January 15, 2012
A witty, accurate & enlightening take on the proper use of the British language. Honestly, anyone who speaks English could benefit from this book.
June 10, 2014
Her Ladyship is quite passionate about her language. It is good to have a refresher from time to time though.
December 23, 2015
Very useful.
August 26, 2016
loved it!
April 1, 2016
A good review of the English language and its complex grammar. Written as if you were having tea with a very knowledgeable friend.
January 7, 2020
An entertaining and informative guide on how to avoid some common pitfalls in the English language.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 15 reviews