THACKERAY
Sir-Although my love and admiration of this great author are in no degree less than "A.M.’s," I cannot quite agree that Thackeray’s style is "unequalled for clarity and grace," as asserted by your correspondent. The
author of Vanity Fair mars: his otherwise. impeccable prose. by. two errors that .occur constantly in all his books. The first is his’ persistent asé of "try and," instead of "try to." This is a wellknown fault in ordinary colloquialism, but should never be found, in the writings of an eminent author,» Secondly; for the past participle of the verb "to sit’? Thackeray~ invariably wrote "sate," There is no excuse for these gshortcomings, which are apt to irritate sensitive readers. But they do not in the least obscure Thackeray’s immortal genius, His range of characters is unrivalled, even by those of Dickens. Captain Costigan and James’ Yellowplush have no peers in the novelists’ gallery.
L. D.
AUSTIN
(Wellington).
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19550513.2.12.9
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 32, Issue 824, 13 May 1955, Page 5
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154THACKERAY New Zealand Listener, Volume 32, Issue 824, 13 May 1955, Page 5
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
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