John Matthews asked John Drake:

Hi John ,loved all the Jacob Fletcher books,however, the grammar in all four books was to say the least poor. In particular the use of the American phrase "off of" which appeared frequently to give significant irritation! "He got off of the boat","He got off of his horse" .etc.etc. Is this the intervention of the proof readers who are maybe aiming at a Stateside audience ?John.

John Drake Hallo John,

First, thanks for reading them. All kind words are much appreciated. Regarding the grammar: it's all mine, for good or bad and no editor is responsible. Such phrases as 'off of the boat' and 'on board of the ship' may well be current US usage, but they were also current usage of the 18th Century, and early 19th. I therefore gave them to Jacob Fletcher, who was born and bred in the 18th Century, and who thought and wrote in this fashion. It is, by modern standards an over-usage of prepositions, and of the locative mood, as seen even more strongly in such phrases as 'all on board of us, gave three cheers' where we might say 'everyone on our ship gave three cheers'. Thanks again for your comments, and watch out for Fletcher 5 late in 2018. You are now the first to know that it will be entitled 'Fletcher and the Samurai.' All best, John Drake.

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