A Semi-Sacred Monster: Charles Wordsworth’s Graecae Grammaticae Rudimenta (1839)

Abstract

Wordsworth’s school grammar was the market leader in Britain for several decades. Despite its central position in British education it was unusual, written in Latin at a time when English was becoming more common. The book formed part of an eccentric campaign by the author and his brother to provide standard grammars so as to promote uniformity in religion. Eventually a short English version was produced, and this stopped sales of the original book. The paper traces the interaction between ideology, the politics of education and the economics of publishing.