Henry Alford's A Plea for the Queen's English of 1864 (titled The Queen's English in later editions) was one of the earliest and most influential style manuals. It was not a comprehensive grammar, but instead moved through the language addressing topics Alford knew many people found difficult. Much of the content comprises his personal views on usage and abusage. Alford's manual shows little has changed since the 19th century. Section 26 looks at the incorrect insertion of the possessive apostrophe in plurals (Railway Station's for Railway Stations). The phenomenon is often referred to as the 'greengrocer's apostrophe' because of its frequency on market stall labels: potato's and carrot's, rather than the correct potatoes and carrots.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1875. The publishing house Anatiposi publishes historical books as reprints. Due to their age, these books may have missing pages or inferior quality. Our aim is to preserve these books and make them available to the public so that they do not get lost.