3 Review(s)

Indefatigable as a writer and reformer on rural and political questions in his native Britain, William Cobbett (1763-1835) wrote the present work during the period he spent as a farmer in the United States. Intended for young people and especially 'soldiers, sailors, apprentices, and plough-boys' (Cobbett had himself been one of the latter), it provides concise and practical explanations of grammatical terms, touching on aspects of orthography, prosody, etymology and syntax. First published in December 1818 and used in English schools into the twentieth century, it is reissued here in the version printed in London in 1819. Cobbett demonstrates in a series of letters to his son the fundamental importance of good grammar and clarity of expression. To emphasise this point, he includes 'specimens of false grammar' in the writings of Samuel Johnson as well as 'errors and nonsense' in a speech given by George III.