This month I am thinking about novels for next year and also creating a free diary that will motivate you to follow along in 2019 and keep track of your reading. Next year will be very exciting for lostinclassics! So now is a good time to remind ourselves why we are here and what the benefits of reading classic novels are, based on what we have learned together already this year. 1. It's a challenge! In my private lessons, it is always more motivating to work with students who have a clear goal or objective (an interview, a meeting, an exam, being able to talk to visiting English speaking friends) simply because they are more focused. In life challenges are important to stimulate us to improve. At first glance we can feel overwhelmed by the size of a task, but if we know where we are headed, we can break the journey up into smaller, more reachable stages. Reading a classic novel can seem daunting but every day in the Lost in Classics Group I post on a different aspect of the novel so that, breaking the job down, step by step, each month you can become more familiar with at least one author, some useful language issues and some thought-provoking themes, one novel at a time. If you have followed me this year, you may have noticed that we started in January with a short story of four thousand words and have worked up slowly to seventy-four thousand words with Frankenstein this month. That's a great achievement! Is there a book that you have always wanted to read? Tell me and we can do it together next year! 2. The Book Club! The book club is the perfect way to bring everything together and also share the reading, as each person in the meeting takes on a different role. Read as much as you can, enough to find something to share for your chosen role; practise speaking in a relaxed way in the company of fellow book lovers. 3. Reality is stranger than fiction! I must say that the authors we have seen this year have been a fascinating bunch! Their personal lives have seemed like novels themselves, not the least the wonderful Agatha Christie who, as we saw last month, once disappeared for 11 days provoking a huge man hunt! We have seen the scandalous existence of George Eliot (who had a relationship with a married man), Lewis Caroll (accused of pedophilia), Edgar Allan Poe (thought to have been an alcholic and drug addict) and George Orwell (whose writing is still banned in some countries). We have also met the well-connected Edith Wharton (from a rich, old New York family), Mary Shelley ( from a literary family, married to Percy Shelley, friend of Byron) and Scott Fitzgerald (part of the Lost Generation along with Ernest Hemingway). Is there an author that you would like to get to know better next year? 4. Novels are full of language you can use yourself! Each writer has his own writing style, influenced by the social and historical context he is living in. Since March I have looked for lessons to be learned from each novel we have read in terms of vocabulary and grammar. In this way we have learnt about informal versus formal language, semantic changes, idiomatic expressions, etymology, slang, inversion, archaic and obsolete language, phrasal verbs and much more. Following my Group you could now be more confident in these language and vocabulary questions. Not bad for nine months, huh? That means a lot of acquired vocabulary to use in your own speech or writing, or grammar structures that you will recognize in other contexts. If you sign up for my newsletter, I can also send you my infographics that can serve as quick, visual reminders. 5. You can reflect on life's themes People who read classic novels have better empathy, social perception and emotional intelligence. It's true, there is actually a study on that! (read here). Reading allows us to experience the lives of others or see our own from another point of view. The sad fate of Ethan Frome taught me the importance of doing what you want without worrying about the opinion of others. In Silas Marner and the Black Cat we saw what a devastating effect drugs and alcohol can have on people's lives. Both Jay Gatsby (The Great Gatsby) and Holly Golightly (Breakfast at Tiffany's) sought to improve their situation in life, but could not escape their past. This month in Frankenstein, we will face such themes as the ethics of recreating life! Plenty of interesting reflections and discussions can be had here. Do you ever comment on an online news article? It's a great way to practise expressing your opinion. Why not share your ideas in the comments to my blog articles here or in the Group. 6. Emotional connection aids long term memorization! If you have been trying to improve your English for years without success the reason could be lack of emotional connection. When you read constructed dialogues in a text book you may understand the vocabulary and grammar immediately but you won't remember it long term because you don't care about the speakers. But if you read... 'And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you.' ...ok it's the third conditional and that is difficult to get your head around in any case, but this is Jane Eyre, speaking to Rochester. She has no money and no connectionsbut she can imagine a different situation for herself and because it's Jane Eyre it's personal, you have seen her grow and you feel for her situation and that makes it all the easier to understand. This is basically a summary of what I am trying to do with Lost in Classics. I would love to have your feedback so please look out for my questions on Facebook and in my newsletter this month or let me know directly if there are any books you would like to read together this year.
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I studied French at university, in fact I lived in Paris for five years so I reached an advanced level. I understood everything and I had near-native pronunciation. But that was twenty years ago now (!). I still understand everything I hear and read but I can’t speak because I have lost the habit. I have lived in Italy for 14 years now and I am used to speaking Italian. To speak French you need to make different shapes with your mouth and particularly with your lips and to do it well you need to train yourself. A big problem that language learners often have is the opportunity to speak. Maybe you don’t have anyone to talk to, or you speak only very little. When you then do have the chance you speak, you are not used to speaking out loud and the words feel unfamiliar in your mouth. What if you could improve your listening, speaking confidence and pronunciation by talking to yourself? No I am not going mad, the technique really exists and it’s called shadowing. There is a lot of material on Youtube related to watching films or Tv series or using podcasts. Thanks to audiobooks you can also shadow (follow and observe closely) the words of your favourite authors! Shadowing is a real workout for your mouth, it’s not just listening and repeating, it’s copying the rhythm, intonation, speech patterns and pauses of a native speaker in real time. What is the best way to do shadowing? With practice you can develop your own method but to get started I recommend you try the following 1. Choose a book you really like. 2. Find an audiobook version of the book with a reader whose voice you like or would like to emulate. 3. Listen to an extract from the audio book for general understanding. 4. Listen again and follow with the text a couple of times. 5. Try to work out the meaning of any new words by the context and intonation of the speaker before looking them up. 6. Mark the text to remind yourself of the correct pronunciation, especially word stress, linking and intonation (see picture for an example from the Preface of Frankenstein) 7. Pause the recording after each sentence or phrase and repeat.
8. If there is a word you have difficulty with, say it on its own a few times. You can even try dividing the word into syllables and then putting it back together. 9. Read along with the speaker at the same time as he / she speaks. 10. Get up, walk around, act out the text, it will help add emotion and meaning. Speak loudly. 11. Continue until you can repeat at the same pace as the speaker. 12. Record yourself and listen back to it to evaluate your progress. I like this Libravox audiobook because it is read by a young girl, and Mary Shelley was only 18 when she created the story! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZfXP2YZqEk Please if you do try, let me know how you get on. One of my students who has tried it has said it has really benefitted his confidence! Next Friday October 26 there will be the first Lost in Classics book club meetings both online and in person. I am very pleased to say that the live meeting at my house is already fully booked! There are still places available for the group video call so if you have been thinking about joining in but are still hesitating I hope to convince you with these five benefits of joining a book club.
1. It's motivating! Every Saturday morning I have a group video call with my two colleagues I met on a course about online teaching. We tell each other what we have done to improve our work in the past week and set ourselves goals for the next. We encourage and support each other even if we don't do everything we would like. We just keep each other in check and remind each other of the importance of keeping focused. It is really useful to talk over any problems and get advice. Just the thought that I have to 'report back' to them pushes me into action. A fixed appointment with fellow readers can be just as stimulating. You share a common passion and desire but also problems and difficulties. Every month in a book club each member takes on a specific role for example looking at language, characters or plot and shares their findings with the others in the group. The sense of responsibility for the quality of another person's experience can be highly motivating. 2. You can share the load! In a book club each member takes on a specific role, changing every month. For example, one person looks at the main themes, another at the setting, another at words and grammar etc. By sharing roles you don't have to read or understand the whole novel if you don't have the time. You can just concentrate on one aspect. So, if you have a lot of time that month you can research more, if you have little time you can focus on an extract or chapter and report what you find there. Your contribution can also be in the form of a picture, a poem or a short video that represents your ideas best. It's up to you. The other members in their turn will decide their contribution so that at the end of the meeting you will have an overall vision of the novel. 3. You could read as many as 12 English books a year! Would you like to read more but have difficulty getting started? By joining a book club you could read a book a month, that's 12 in a year! Imagine that the 12 books cover 12 different genres, historical periods or contexts. Imagine that each novel gives you the opportunity to go into different vocabulary and grammar issues. Imagine how many characters or themes you can meet! If I had a tattoo it would read 'I have lived a thousand lives'. Wouldn't that be wonderful! The members of a book club can decide on the books they would like to read together. Of course you don't have to read every month. The quality of your experience is worth more than quantity here. We are 'lost in classics'. Think of your favourite novel. How wonderful is it to be caught up in another world? When reality gets tough you can always take refuge in another world and learn from another person's experience. 4. Practice speaking in a comfortable, non-threatening environment! Speaking spontaneously in front of strangers can be intimidating, even for a native speaker! In a book club you can make friends from all over the world, from the familiar setting of your sofa, wearing your pyjamas if you want! You can build relationships with people who share the same passions and interests so that you can feel comfortable expressing yourself. For each role I will provide you with a worksheet that will give you some ideas and things to focus on. You can prepare your contribution in advance, even writing down exactly what you want to say or just making some notes. The most important thing is to be clear and communicate your message, don't worry about small mistakes. If you prefer you can look online for something that expresssses your ideas in the way you would like to and share that at first: a picture, a poem or a video. You choose exactly how much you feel comfortable sharing in that moment. 5. Make friends! As I said before a book club is above all a way to connect with others that have your same interests and perhaps goals. You can never have too many friends. It is thanks to online friendships and collaborations that I am speaking to you today. We can build a community of like-minded people exchanging ideas and opinions. Let's share our love of reading in English! I hope I have convinced you to give it a try. Contact me for details of how to join the next meeting! Next month in the Group we will read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Many of you will already know the background to the creation of the story. Mary Shelley at the age of 18 was on holiday with her husband, the poet Percy, visiting the Villa Diodati near Lake Geneva where Lord Byron was staying when one evening Byron suggested that they all write their own ghost story and Mary's contrinbution was what became Frankenstein or, the Modern Prometheus.
Many of my colleagues have been talking recently about the benefits of creative writing. Differently from speaking, when you write you have time to reflect on what you are saying and how you express yourself. It is the ideal opportunity to try out any new vocabulary or grammatical structures you have found whilst reading or listening. Reading is a great way to see words and phrases in a meaningful context. Imagine how much more memorable those words would be if you wrote the story yourself! An online student of mine has recently asked me to write him a story using new words he would like to memorize better. I really enjoyed trying to weave the words and phrases he gave me into a story, but I think that this experience could be even more powerful for a person learning a language. If you use words to talk about something that comes from you, your experience or even your imagination, you make them your own, you master them. Here are the words that my student gave me: Sticking point Incessant Indignantly Pasty Dainty ( or daintiness) Bells start chiming It would never have occurred to me to ... Inept Cut back Twitchy Rift Stumped Taut He mumbled something under his breath. Predicament Treasure trove Whinnig Wince whiff Sinuous Measly Entrails Strew Surreptitious Haze Protruding Wound Intricate Weave Walk something off Lend itself to something Bashed in And here is the story I created The evening lent itself to an after dinner walk. It was cold but not damp, that short of crisp cold that can be envigorating. I headed down the sinuous Union Canal that wove its intricate path through the capital. Edinborough seemed like a treasure trove of possibilities to a budding young doctor like me. I was the first in my family to attend university and that made me proud but at the same time the investment my parents were making in me weighed heavy on my shoulders, I had to prove I deserved their trust. At the strike of midnight the church bells started chiming and almost simultaneously the street lights dimmed, the council was cutting back on spending and the measly light made me feel quite twitchy as it strew eery shadows. In the haze a pasty girl in a dainty dress dashed past me, casting a whiff of her sweet floral perfume into the night air. Her scent took me back to the party and I immediately recognized her as the girl my friends and I had all seen loudly having it out with a young man we had presumed was her boyfriend. It would never usually have occurred to me to follow her. I was a shy boy and quite inept at approaching strange women. But Dutch courage and the incessant ringing of the bells provoked a rift from my usual behavior. I hurried after her. ‘Miss! Wait! Are you OK?’ I cried. She quickened her pace so I reached out to her and managed to grab her arm, squeezing it perhaps too tight. ‘Leave me alone!’ she snapped indignantly as she struggled to get free and ran off. I froze: the sticking point was that I was a stranger and she must have been afraid of me. I retreated to consider my predicament and must have got lost in my own thoughts and lost track of time. I was awakened from my reverie when I heard a whining coming from just around the corner. I took a surreptitious glance and caught sight of a taut arm protruding from the back of an abandoned building. Overcome with fear I tiptoed closer and there was the girl, stumped against the wall, holding her arm to her side to protect a wound. Her face was bashed in. I tried to remember my first aid and as I tried to I grabbed her arm to get a better look at the wound she winced. ‘Help me’ Elena mumbled under her breath. I managed to whisper ‘It’s all ok now', before she fainted in my arms. We have never been apart since. I hope you liked the story, but even if you didn't, that's not the point. The point is to use words to internalize them, no matter how weird it seems. So, with Halloween coming up, like Byron I challenge you to write a ghost story. Challenge yourself to use some more difficult structures. This is a good way to make them more familiar. If you would like to send me your story, I can comment on the English you use. As for the content of the story, the stranger the better! If you would like to receive a recording of me reading the story above, feel free to contact me. It is a pleasure for me. As always, lost in classics Your Anna As I said last week, one of the most appealing aspects of Agatha Christie's writing are her colourful dialogues. And there is nothing more colourful than idiomatic phrases. They add interest to your language and are, well, just fun! Let's look at 5 idiomatic phrases from 'The Body in the Library'. 1. Chapter 6 - Colonel Melchett tended toward a blunt brutality. "No good crying over spilt milk," he said sharply. "The girl's dead, strangled. You're lucky that she wasn't strangled in your hotel. This puts the inquiry in a different county and lets your establishment down extremely lightly. But certain inquiries have got to be made, and the sooner we get on with it the better. You can trust us to be discreet and tactful. So I suggest you cut the cackle and come to the horses. Just what, exactly, do you know about the girl?" Originally 'Cut the dialect and come to the horses', this was a favourite saying of Alexander Ducrow, a famous early 19th century equestrian, circus rider and great showman. He believed that in a show the most important thing was the action, not the dialogue and his favourite part of the show naturally the part was with the horses. By 'dialect', he meant dialogue which in our version has been replaced by 'cackle' literally meaning a raucous cry of a bird like a hen or a goose but as birds are often associated with women, the meaning is extended here to indicate a group of women laughing or chatting loudly. So the whole phrase basically means 'Stop wasting time chatting and get down to action'. 2. Chapter 9 - "Oh, yes, Harper, it's all perfectly possible. But there's still one thing to be done. Cherchez l'homme." "What? Oh, very good, sir." Superintendent Harper tactfully applauded Melchett's joke, although, owing to the excellence of the colonel's French accent, he almost missed the sense of the words. 'Cherchez l'homme' is a variant of the expression 'Cherchez la femme', which comes from the novel 'The Mohicans of Paris' by Alexandre Dumas. Literally translated as 'Look for the woman', it means that if there is something a bit unusual about a man's behaviour, there's quite often a woman behind it. The phrase became a cliché in popular fiction and appears sveral times in Agatha Christie's works. 3. Chapter 11 - Sir Henry was wondering, as he went upstairs, just what had induced the sudden urgency of his friend's message. Conway Jefferson was not the type of man who sent urgent summonses to anyone. Something quite out of the usual must have occurred, decided Sir Henry. Jefferson wasted no time in beating about the bush. 'To beat about the bush' means to avoid talking about what is important, digressing, being indirect or evasive. The term originally comes from bird hunting. Hunters would literally beat the ground surrounding bushes to encourage birds to come out from their resting or hiding places, so that they could be taken by other hunters. Some saw the bearting as a waste of time instead of getting down to the real job of directly taking the birds. 4. Chapter 15 - "It sounds to me the kind of village domestic problem that is right up Miss Marple's street. She's very sharp, you know." The superintendent smiled. He said, "I'll say you're right. Nothing much gets past her." If something is just or right up your street, it is the kind of thing you like or know about. For example, if you like classic novels, lostinclassics should be right up your street (or alley in American English)!. Your alley or street is your home territory and so something to be comfortable with. 5. Chapter 15 - "I don't know. Before Ruby Keene came on the scene I happen to know that he had left his money between Mark Gaskell and Mrs Jefferson. I don't see why he should now change his mind about that. But of course he might do so." Superintendent Harper agreed. "You never know what bee a man is going to get in his bonnet; especially when he doesn't feel there's any moral obligation in the disposal of his fortune. No blood relations in this case." If you 'have a bee in your bonnet' about something, that thing, however small, is bothering or worrying you so much that you cannot forget about it. A bonnet is an old-fashioned hat that was tied under the chin. Imagine how annoying it would be to actually have a bee inside your hat! This phrase is more than 500 years old, evolving from the original, 'have a bee in your head' in Gavin Douglas's Aeneis, 1513. I have a bee in my bonnet about the recycling system in my building. The bins are only open at certain times, but the test of the day they are locked. The lady who lives on the ground floor has taken charge of the situation. But who gave her the keys? Who made her in charge? Why? I am talking about this with all the neighbours. And you? Do you have a bee in your bonnet about anything at the moment?
When you have to talk to someone about something delicate do you beat around the bush? Is this article right up your street? Write your answers in the comments and don't forget to tell me if you find any other interesting idiomatic phrases as you read! This month in the group we are reading The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie. If you don't have a copy you can find links in the BOOKS! section of this website. Agatha Christie's dialogues are so natural you can hear the character's voices as you read.
When you read or listen to anything sooner or later you will come across a phrasal verb. (Oh look there's one in that sentence too!) The Body in the Library is no exception, in fact this week I will make a new infographic on phrasal verbs from the book. Everyone I speak to has difficulty with these verbs and asks themself what is the best way to learn them or at least understand them a little better. Let me try to help. It is said that you can speak English using only a few words. This is true only because one word can have many different meanings. In a previous post in May, I explained that in the past words of French or Latin origin were used to talk about more formal subjects while shorter Old English words were prefered for everyday conversation. Short words are the people's words, they are familiar. Short words and phrases and no specialist terms are characteristics of English that I think are behind its international 'popularity'. As society evolved and people extended their horizons beyond their immediate surroundings they applied simple words, understood by everyone, to explain more complex or abstract concepts. So they took short verbs and added prepositions stretching the physical meaning of the preposition and using it figuratively. Instead of trying to learn the meanings of lists of phrasal verbs that you may never use or that can have different meanings in different situations, it is better for you to get to know well the physical meanings of prepositions and imagine how those prepositions can be interpreted figuratively. Close your eyes and try to create a picture in your mind. Let's think about the preposition 'up'. 'Up' means towards a higher position, superior. In fact if you look up to someone you respect them because they are superior to you in status or skill. If you want to arrive at that person's level, but you are a bit behind you can try to catch up with them. Maybe we can say that you look up a word in a dictionary to increase your knowledge. We can also think that if something is in a higher position it is easier to see so if we look a word up we bring it to our attention, into our view. If you put some water into a glass, the level of the water will rise. When the water reaches the top of the glass, the glass will be full. By extension, 'up' also means completely, totally. Imagine you go to a shop but find the door is locked. You look in through the window. The lights are off, there is no one there. You tell yourself the shop is shut but you can come back tomorrow. Now imagine you look closer. The shelves are bare, the posters are down, the shop is shut up, permanently closed. It will not open again. Have you taken up any new hobbies recently? 'Take up'? Imagine you see a guitar on a table. You hold the guitar in your hands and you raise it to your chest and start to play some notes. You have taken up playing the guitar, you have started a new hobby or activity. Who brought you up (bring up)? When you were a baby your parents took your hand and accompanied you as you advanced in years until you became an adult. How can you look at the prepositions 'down', 'off', 'back' or 'after'? Next time you see a phrasal verb try to picture the situation in your mind and consider how the preposition affects what you see or which direction you look at it from. If you would like to receive my phrasal verb infographic this week write me your email address in the comments. Then you can try out this method with verbs from Agatha Christie's 'The Body in the Library'. Happy reading! This post is a bit different from my previous articles because it is incomplete, for now at least! I have been fascinated by this subject for years but had never got round to exploring it further. Thanks to Arthur Conan Doyle, lostinclassics and you the time has finally come! We’re not talking about essential grammar here. This is an aspect of language to be enjoyed for the beauty of the sound of it. That’s the pleasure of reading classic novels. In fact, this stylistic device is most often used in formal or old-fashioned writing. Just like archaic or obsolete language, it can surprise you when you meet it. First we need to clear up two terms: fronting and inversion. Fronting is moving (a word or phrase) to the beginning of a clause or sentence, typically for emphasis or contrast. This can sometimes, but not always, involve inversion, switching the order of the subject and the auxiliary verb. This is a big subject that I will have to come back to this, but for today we will look at some of the most common structures where inversion occurs. For now I have provided mostly random examples but I thought it could be fun to complete the examples with quotes from your favourite classic novels and authors. Finding quotes is a long job so I will be updating as I find them as I read. Be sure to check back and I will confirm on Facebook when I have finished. Maybe you can help me out. The best way to overcome fears is to face them straight on, so later I will ask you transform some phrases using inversion. Don’t be afraid, the next time you see inversion, it will be like meeting an old friend. Why invert? Inversion can be used to add formality, for dramatic effect or for emphasis (something that in spoken language we can usually express with our tone of voice ). Never in her life had she seen his manners so little dignified, never had he spoken with such gentleness as he as on this unexpected meeting. (Pride and Prejudice) How does it work? When writers use inversion, they move the adverb or adverb phrase to the beginning of the sentence, and then reverse the normal word order of the subject and the auxiliary verb, just as you would do in a question. If there is no auxiliary verb, for example in the present simple or past simple, add it first before switching. Children love their parents. Eventually they come to judge them. Rarely do they forgive them. (Oscar Wilde) Under no circumstances did I want to meet him again. When is it used? Inversion is usually used with negative adverbs and adverb phrases including Adverbs of frequency Never – Never had I seen such a beautiful view. Rarely – Rarely do I get the chance to completely relax Hardly ever – Hardly ever do I eat out Seldom – Seldom do you get an opportunity like this Only Only once – Only once in my life have I experienced really low temperatures. Only later / then – Only later did I realise that I had forgotten to pay Only in this way – Only in this way can you lose weight No At no time – At no time should you drink and drive No sooner – No sooner have you feasted on beauty with your eyes than your mind tells you that beauty is vain and beauty passes – Virginia Woolf Nowhere ( lack of information ) – Nowhere does it say that dogs are not allowed In no way – In no way am I responsible for your actions On no account – On no account are you to speak with him Under no circumstances – Under no circumstances will we issue a refund No way – No way am I coming with you Not Not only…but also – Not only was the room dirty, but the food was also bad Not for nothing – Not for nothing do they call him ‘Dirty Den’ Not until much later / long after – Not until much later did it occur to me to call the police Not even – Not even with my glasses on could I read the small print In a subordinate clause with no inversion in the main clause Not until – Not until I got home did I realise I had lost my keys Not since – Not since I was a child have I had so much fun Only if – Only if it were really hot would I want to swim in there Only when / after – Only when I arrived home, did I start to feel bad Only by – Only by experiencing real sadness, can you feel joy Instead of if in conditionals with had / were and should Had I known you were sick, I would have visited you Were it for me, you would get the promotion Should you need help, call me In adverbial expressions of place "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." J.R.R. Tolkein With so + adjective /adverb or such …that So big was the dish that I had to couldn’t finish So fast did he drive that I was nearly sick Such was the power of his voice that the whole audience sat up With adverbs of time No sooner….than – Not sooner had he came on the stage than I recognized him Scarcely….when / before – Scarcely had we taken off when we heard a strange noise from the engine Barely….when / before – Barely had I opened my mouth before he interrupted me Hardly…. When / before – Hardly had we started the test when the fire alarm went off With little or at no time + verb of cognition ( imagine, know, realize, suspect, understand, be aware ) meaning have no idea Little did I know John had already invited Jack to the party At no time did I suspect that the student was cheating Now it’s your turn! REWRITE THE FOLLOWING ADVICE ON HOLIDAY SAFETY USING INVERSION 1. Never stay in the seawater if you are tired or cold. Under no... 2. Children should never be left alone on the beach or in the water At no... 3. Never swim just after a meal or after consuming alcohol Under no... 4. Never swim in the sea at night On no... 5. Only swim at night in a pool if there are other people about. Not unless... 6. Don’t go out in the sun without applying sunscreen Only after.. 7. The only way of avoiding dehydration is to keep drinking plenty of non-alcoholic drinks Only by... Let me know if you find any other examples of inversion as you read, telling me where you read it and I will add them!
It looks like Agatha Christie's mother was right to be suspicious of Archie as he swayed when he met Nancy Neal playing golf. In the same period Agatha's mother died and while Agatha was packing up her childhood home, Archie told her that he wanted a divorce. On the evening of 3 December 1926, after a fight with Archie, Agatha drove off in her car leaving her daughter behind. She left a note saying she was going to Yorkshire. She was not wearing her wedding ring. In the morning her abandoned car was found near Guildford near a pit, a natural spring called The Silent Pool. Two children had drowned there. Christie was nowhere to be found. A massive manhunt with a £100 reward got underway, involving fifteen thousand volunteers, and pictures on the front page of newspapers as far away as The New York Times. Meanwhile however, on December 4 1926, Agatha arrived at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate in North Yorkshire 246 miles away. She registered under the name Teresa Neal and stayed there for ten days. Two members of a band playing at the hotel recognized Agatha and went to the police. Archie went to the hotel and confirmed his wife's identity. He told the press his wife had amnesia. Agatha refused to discuss the subject herself not even in her autobiography. The hounding she received from the press pushed her into reclusion. Agatha and Archie were divorced in 1928.
What do you think really happened to Agatha? To give your opinion about a past event, you can use past modals of deduction. The pattern is always modal verb + have + past participle Your choice of modal verb will depend on how certain you are that something is true. 100 % - must - It must have been a dreadful period in her life. 50/60% - could - Her amnesia could have been caused by depression 30/40% - may - Many people may have experienced a difficult time in their lives like that. 20/10% - might - It might have been a publicity stunt 0% - can't / couldn't - She can't have liked her celebrity. Now tell me your ideas in the comments Might she have been wandering around with loss of memory? May she have fallen down into the pit? Might she have been the victim of a serious crime? Could it have been a revenge attempt to frame her husband for her murder? This week in the Lost in Classics Facebook Group we will investigate the language in ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ including the difference between formal and informal writing styles and modals verbs for speculation and deduction. In this extract from Chapter 13 we will look closer at Conan Doyle's writing comparing a B2 level graded reader with the original. Comparing the simplified version to the original version can help you to understand more difficult words by finding synonyms. As the style of the reader is more concise, reading it will enable you to identify how to express yourself more clearly in spoken and written English. Sherlock Holmes is interrogating Mrs Laura Lyons, the woman who wrote a note to Sir Charles arranging to meet him at his driveway the night he died. Mrs. Laura Lyons was in her office, and Sherlock Holmes opened his interview with a frankness and directness which considerably amazed her. “I am investigating the circumstances which attended the death of the late Sir Charles Baskerville,” said he. “My friend here, Dr. Watson, has informed me of what you have communicated, and also of what you have withheld in connection with that matter.” “What have I withheld?” she asked defiantly. “You have confessed that you asked Sir Charles to be at the gate at ten o'clock. We know that that was the place and hour of his death. You have withheld what the connection is between these events.” “There is no connection.” “In that case the coincidence must indeed be an extraordinary one. But I think that we shall succeed in establishing a connection, after all. I wish to be perfectly frank with you, Mrs. Lyons. We regard this case as one of murder, and the evidence may implicate not only your friend Mr. Stapleton but his wife as well.” The lady sprang from her chair. “His wife!” she cried. “The fact is no longer a secret. The person who has passed for his sister is really his wife.” Mrs. Lyons had resumed her seat. Her hands were grasping the arms of her chair, and I saw that the pink nails had turned white with the pressure of her grip. “His wife!” she said again. “His wife! He is not a married man.” Sherlock Holmes shrugged his shoulders. “Prove it to me! Prove it to me! And if you can do so —!” The fierce flash of her eyes said more than any words. “I have come prepared to do so,” said Holmes, drawing several papers from his pocket. “Here is a photograph of the couple taken in York four years ago. It is indorsed 'Mr. and Mrs. Vandeleur,' but you will have no difficulty in recognizing him, and her also, if you know her by sight. Here are three written descriptions by trustworthy witnesses of Mr. and Mrs. Vandeleur, who at that time kept St. Oliver's private school. Read them and see if you can doubt the identity of these people.” She glanced at them, and then looked up at us with the set rigid face of a desperate woman. “Mr. Holmes,” she said, “this man had offered me marriage on condition that I could get a divorce from my husband. He has lied to me, the villain, in every conceivable way. Not one word of truth has he ever told me. And why — why? I imagined that all was for my own sake. But now I see that I was never anything but a tool in his hands. Why should I preserve faith with him who never kept any with me? Why should I try to shield him from the consequences of his own wicked acts? Ask me what you like, and there is nothing which I shall hold back. One thing I swear to you, and that is that when I wrote the letter I never dreamed of any harm to the old gentleman, who had been my kindest friend.” “I entirely believe you, madam,” said Sherlock Holmes. “The recital of these events must be very painful to you, and perhaps it will make it easier if I tell you what occurred, and you can check me if I make any material mistake. The sending of this letter was suggested to you by Stapleton?” “He dictated it.” “I presume that the reason he gave was that you would receive help from Sir Charles for the legal expenses connected with your divorce?” “Exactly.” “And then after you had sent the letter he dissuaded you from keeping the appointment?” “He told me that it would hurt his self-respect that any other man should find the money for such an object, and that though he was a poor man himself he would devote his last penny to removing the obstacles which divided us.” “He appears to be a very consistent character. And then you heard nothing until you read the reports of the death in the paper?” “No.” “And he made you swear to say nothing about your appointment with Sir Charles?” “He did. He said that the death was a very mysterious one, and that I should certainly be suspected if the facts came out. He frightened me into remaining silent.” “Quite so. But you had your suspicions?” She hesitated and looked down. “I knew him,” she said. “But if he had kept faith with me I should always have done so with him.” “I think that on the whole you have had a fortunate escape,” said Sherlock Holmes. “You have had him in your power and he knew it, and yet you are alive. You have been walking for some months very near to the edge of a precipice. We must wish you good-morning now, Mrs. Lyons, and it is probable that you will very shortly hear from us again.” Holmes and I then went to visit Mrs Laura Lyons. She was surprised that Holmes spoke to her very frankly. “Mrs Lyons, I believe that you have some important information about the night of Sir Charles’ death. Why did you not go to your appointment with him? “I cannot reveal that, Mr Holmes. It is a private affair” “I must warn you that this is a case of murder. The evidence you refuse to give could implicate your friend Mr Stapleton and his wife, too” The lady jumped up from her chair. “His wife!” she cried. “But he is not married!” “He is a married man,” assured Sherlock Holmes, “and I can prove it.” He took a photo from his pocket. “Here they are four years ago in New York. Mrs Lyons looked at us with the face of a desperate woman. “Mr Holmes, this man promised to marry me. He lied to me, the villain. And he asked me to write the note to Sir Charles. But I promise you, I never thought the gentleman was in danger.” “I believe you madam” said Holmes. “But why didn’t you tell the police about this when Sir Charles died?” “Mr Stapleton convinced me it was a risk. I was afraid of being a suspect.” “Madam, you are lucky you are still alive. Thank you for this important information. We will contact you soon.” Find the equivalent phrases for 1 to 13 in the simplified text. The language in the first extract is obviously more literary and words are chosen to create a visual effect. The graded reader version prefers to put across the same message in a shorter, more direct way.
Key 1. l – Withhold is quite a formal verb. To be less formal use more common synonyms. Prefer shorter words even if it means using more words, it is preferable for them to have 4/5 letters or less 2. F – Prefer adjectives to nouns. 3. H – To be more direct eliminate any unnecessary words, use approximate language. 4. M – as above. Also in English we generally prefer to use more simple verbs and less nouns. Keep words and sentences short. 5. B – Latin was used to communicate on higher subjects like law, music and art, not for everyday basic communication. For this reason, still today, words of a Latin or even French origin sound more formal. Prefer shorter words that come from Old English. 6. J – remove unnecessary words and prefer personal versus impersonal forms. 7. I - Often when we speak we prefer to use a short common verb and a preposition, also referred to as phrasal verbs. 8. E – Prefer active verb forms to passive. 9. K – Be adventurous with your adjectives! They add colour and precision to your language. 10. C – Prefer shorter verbs to verb – noun collocations. 11. D - To be less formal use more common synonyms. Prefer shorter words 12. A - remove unnecessary words 13. G - To be less formal use more common synonyms. Prefer shorter words. We can enjoy Arthur Conan Doyle’s writing for the beauty and elegance of the language. However, people rarely speak in that way today. From comparing the language in the two extracts, we can establish some guidelines on writing and speaking clearly and effectively in the modern world. 1. Put yourself in the reader’s / interlocutor’s shoes What does he / she already know about the subject? Then decide exactly what message it is you are trying to get across and why. Is it to inform, sell, persuade or explain? 2. Use short sentences The shorter the sentence, the stronger the message, and the less room for ambiguity and confusion. This is why most advertisers use short sentences, even when they are aiming at a highly educated market. The New York Times has a reputation for good writing, yet it is written so that it can be understood by a 17-year-old. 3. Use active verb forms One way to shorten sentences is to use active forms rather than passive forms. Another good idea is to use personal pronouns wherever it’s appropriate. 4. Include just one main idea per sentence. This avoids the possibility for ambiguity or confusion, particularly when the subject matter is complex. 5. Remove all unnecessary words and phrases. This will not only shorten sentences but also make the language more forceful and direct. Do you agree with these guidelines? Can you think of any other ideas to add to the list? One problem of reading classic novels is that, written sometimes centuries ago, you may encounter archaic and obsolete language. Archaic language means outdated words that are only used today in specific contexts and usually sound old-fashioned. Instead obsolete words are those that are no longer used at all. Trying to remember such words is pointless as you will most likely never use them yourself. Having said that recognizing and understanding them better can make them less 'scary' when you meet them again. In the second chapter of 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' by Arthur Conan Doyle we read the tale of the curse of the Baskervilles to which the writer added archaic and obsolete words to make it sound more authentically written in 1742. “Of the origin of the Hound of the Baskervilles there have been many statements, yet as I come in a direct line from Hugo Baskerville, and as I had the story from my father, who also had it from his, I have set it down with all belief that it occurred even as is here set forth. And I would have you believe, my sons, that the same Justice which punishes sin may also most graciously forgive it, and that no ban (1) is so heavy but that by prayer and repentance it may be removed. Learn then from this story not to fear the fruits of the past, but rather to be circumspect in the future, that those foul passions whereby (2) our family has suffered so grievously may not again be loosed (3) to (4) our undoing." “Know then that in the time of the Great Rebellion (the history of which by the learned Lord Clarendon I most earnestly commend to your attention) this Manor of Baskerville was held by Hugo of that name, nor can it be gainsaid (5) that he was a most wild, profane, and godless man. This, in truth, his neighbours might have pardoned, seeing that saints have never flourished in those parts, but there was in him a certain wanton and cruel humour which made his name a by-word through the West. It chanced that this Hugo came to love (if, indeed, so dark a passion may be known under so bright a name) the daughter of a yeoman (6)who held lands near the Baskerville estate. But the young maiden (7), being discreet and of good repute, would ever avoid him, for she feared his evil name. So it came to pass that one Michaelmas this Hugo, with five or six of his idle and wicked companions, stole down upon the farm and carried off the maiden, her father and brothers being from home, as he well knew. When they had brought her to the Hall the maiden was placed in an upper chamber, while Hugo and his friends sat down to a long carouse, as was their nightly custom. Now, the poor lass upstairs was like to have her wits turned at the singing and shouting and terrible oaths which came up to her from below, for they say that the words used by Hugo Baskerville, when he was in wine, were such as might blast the man who said them. At last in the stress of her fear she did that which might have daunted the bravest or most active man, for by the aid of the growth of ivy which covered (and still covers) the south wall, she came down from under the eaves, and so homeward across the moor, there being three leagues (8) betwixt (9) the Hall and her father’s farm. “It chanced that some little time later Hugo left his guests to carry food and drink—with other worse things, perchance (10) —to his captive, and so found the cage empty and the bird escaped. Then, as it would seem, he became as one that hath (11) a devil, for, rushing down the stairs into the dining-hall, he sprang upon the great table, flagons and trenchers (12) flying before him, and he cried aloud before (13) all the company that he would that very night render his body and soul to the Powers of Evil if he might but overtake the wench (7). And while the revellers stood aghast (14) at the fury of the man, one more wicked or, it may be, more drunken than the rest, cried out that they should put the hounds upon her. Whereat (2)Hugo ran from the house, crying to his grooms that they should saddle his mare and unkennel the pack, and giving the hounds a kerchief of the maid’s (7), he swung them to the line, and so off full cry in the moonlight over the moor." “Now, for some space the revellers stood agape (14), unable to understand all that had been done in such haste. But anon (15) their bemused wits awoke to the nature of the deed which was like to be done upon the moorlands. Everything was now in an uproar, some calling for their pistols, some for their horses, and some for another flask of wine. But at length some sense came back to their crazed minds, and the whole of them, thirteen in number, took horse and started in pursuit. The moon shone clear above them, and they rode swiftly abreast (14a), taking that course which the maid (7)must needs have taken if she were to reach her own home. “They had gone a mile or two when they passed one of the night shepherds upon the moorlands, and they cried to him to know if he had seen the hunt. And the man, as the story goes, was so crazed with fear that he could scarce speak, but at last he said that he had indeed seen the unhappy (16) maiden, with the hounds upon her track. ‘But I have seen more than that,’ said he, ‘for Hugo Baskerville passed me upon his black mare, and there ran mute behind him such a hound of hell as God forbid should ever be at my heels.’ “So the drunken squires cursed the shepherd and rode onwards. But soon their skins turned cold, for there came a sound of galloping across the moor, and the black mare, dabbled with white froth, went past with trailing bridle and empty saddle. Then the revellers rode close together, for a great fear was on them, but they still followed over the moor, though each, had he been alone, would have been right glad to have turned his horse’s head. Riding slowly in this fashion, they came at last upon the hounds. These, though known for their valour and their breed, were whimpering in a cluster at the head of a deep dip or goyal, as we call it, upon the moor, some slinking away and some, with starting hackles (17) and staring eyes, gazing down the narrow valley before them. “The company had come to a halt, more sober men, as you may guess, than when they started. The most of them would by no means advance, but three of them, the boldest, or it may be, the most drunken, rode forward down the goyal. Now, it opened into a broad space in which stood two of those great stones, still to be seen there, which were set by certain forgotten peoples in the days of old (18). The moon was shining bright upon the clearing, and there in the centre lay the unhappy maid where she had fallen, dead of fear and of fatigue. But it was not the sight of her body, nor yet was it that of the body of Hugo Baskerville lying near her, which raised the hair upon the heads of these three dare-devil roysterers, but it was that, standing over Hugo, and plucking at his throat, there stood a foul thing, a great, black beast, shaped like a hound, yet larger than any hound that ever mortal eye has rested upon. And even as they looked the thing tore the throat out of Hugo Baskerville, on which, as it turned its blazing eyes and dripping jaws upon them, the three shrieked with fear and rode for dear life, still screaming, across the moor. One, it is said, died that very night of what he had seen, and the other twain (19)were but broken men for the rest of their days. “Such is the tale, my sons, of the coming of the hound which is said to have plagued the family so sorely ever since. If I have set it down it is because that which is clearly known hath (11) less terror than that which is but hinted at and guessed. Nor can it be denied that many of the family have been unhappy (16) in their deaths, which have been sudden, bloody, and mysterious. Yet may we shelter ourselves in the infinite goodness of Providence, which would not forever punish the innocent beyond that third or fourth generation which is threatened in Holy Writ. To that Providence, my sons, I hereby commend you, and I counsel (20) you by way of caution to forbear from (21) crossing the moor in those dark hours when the powers of evil are exalted. “[This from Hugo Baskerville to his sons Rodger and John, with instructions that they say nothing thereof (2) to their sister Elizabeth.]” 1. Curse - "the land might be smitten by the ban which once fell upon the Canaanites" 2. Whereby and later hereby, whereat and thereof I would class these compounds as archaic because they sound very formal now but may be used perhaps in a legal context as a way of avoiding the repetition of names of things in a document. They replace a preposition and a pronoun where the preposition works as an adverb and the pronoun as an adverb refering to location. They are joined toegether in reverse order. Whereby = by which - "a system whereby people could vote by telephone" hereby = by this - "all such warranties are hereby excluded" whereat - at which point - "they demanded an equal share in the high command, whereat negotiations broke down" thereof - of this /that - "the member state or a part thereof" For more examples with here, there and where see here 3. set free - "the hounds have been loosed" 4. for - used with an infinitive to express use or purpose: I'm going there to see my sister. 5. denied - to refuse to accept something as the truth: - Certainly there's no gainsaying (= it is not possible to doubt) the technical brilliance of his performance. 6. landowning farmer - probably originating from the combination of the words 'young' and 'man'. Yeoman owned and cultivated small areas of land. 7. girl - The young maiden skipped through the meadow 8. about 3 miles 20,000 leagues under the sea - Jules Verne 9. between - Jack Sprat could eat no fat, his wife could eat no lean; and so betwixt the two of them, they licked the platter clean. 10. perhaps - “To sleep: perchance to dream…” Shakespeare, Hamlet 11. has - Verbs ending in -th or -eth are an archaic way of forming the 3rd person singular present, so for example: say - sayeth, go - goeth, do - doeth. 'Th' was also used in second person singular pronouns instead of the modern 'you'. 'Thou' was used as a subejct pronoun, 'thee' as object pronoun, 'thy' or 'thine' as possessive adjective and 'thine' possessive pronoun. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned "Patience is mine", sayeth the Lord." "Whatsoever thou sayeth, my Lord" ."Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit." "The merciful man doeth good to his own soul." 12. a flat, wooden dish used to serve food 13. in front of - "Matilda stood before her, panting" 14. with the mouth wide open, as in wonder, surprise. As a prefix 'a' was added to a verb to be used as a present participle (ablaze; agape; aglow; astride (a); awry). Think of awake. ‘Downes listened, mouth agape with incredulity’ 15. soon - "If we shall perish anon, I will not die unfulfilled." 16. unfortunate, ill-fated - "This business ogìf you being a killer was an unhappy coincidence." 17. erectile hairs along an animal's back, which rise when it is angry or alarmed "the dog continued to growl, its hackles raised" 18. in the past (literary) - "The minstrel sang a ballad about days of old". 19. two - ‘families were either ‘church’ or ‘chapel’ and never the twain shall meet' 20. advise 21. refrain from Why not try to use some of these terms to explain a local phenomenon or legend? Using the language yourself may help to make it more familiar and therefore less frightening. |
What is this?When I started lostinclassics I looked for language lessons in the books I was reading, such as for example the use of phrasal verbs or inversion in conditionals and I explained them through examples found in the text. I also did reviews of the books I read and tried to give some advice on how to read classics using the various resources I know of. Then I switched to just reviews and lately I have been doing a bit of creative writing inspired by my reading. Who knows what I will come up with next! Archives
September 2020
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