# British People's Prose **URL:** \ **Category:** English Grammar & Usage\ **Created:** [June 19, 2023, 3:50am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254 "2023-06-19T03:50:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OysterOmelet](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/oysteromelet/32/219695_2.png) [@OysterOmelet](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/OysterOmelet)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 3:50am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/1 "2023-06-19T03:50:40Z")
If I start reading writing by British people, I can’t really tell it’s any different. If the publisher is American, then the spelling and some usage has been Americanized. However, if I read an extended tract (i.e. whole book) written by a British person, then following along becomes torturous. It’s not that I don’t understand it, of course, but sometimes I have to reread. I’ve written books by the following British people who are hard to follow: N. T. Wright, Simon Conway Morris, and Margaret Barker. The only British person whose writing I’ve found to be an easy read is Richard Dawkins. Blind Watchmaker and Selfish Gene just flowed. ---
**Author:** ![Andrew](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/andrew/32/179806_2.png) [@Andrew](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Andrew)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 4:24am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/2 "2023-06-19T04:24:34Z")
> [@OysterOmelet](#): > > However, if I read an extended tract (i.e. whole book) written by a British person, then following along becomes torturous. Why do you think that is, specifically? What do you think makes it more difficult to follow? Maybe it’s just those specific writers/books you found torturous/boring? ---
**Author:** ![urodacus](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/urodacus/32/69843_2.png) [@urodacus](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/urodacus)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 4:27am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/3 "2023-06-19T04:27:49Z")
maybe you should read some James Joyce. everything is easy after that. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_PBH](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/mr_pbh/32/230938_2.png) [@Mr\_PBH](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Mr_PBH)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 10:33am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/4 "2023-06-19T10:33:29Z")
I’d like to give a copy of _Infinite Jest_ to Joyce for Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Steve4nLanguage](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/steve4nlanguage/32/180867_2.png) [@Steve4nLanguage](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Steve4nLanguage)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 12:24pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/5 "2023-06-19T12:24:51Z")
I thought you were going to mention Joseph Conrad (Polish-British). I only read one of his works and vowed never again. His rambling page-length paragraphs and random placement of adjectives were just two aspects of his writing style that turned me off. ---
**Author:** ![BiggusDickus](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/biggusdickus/32/90381_2.png) [@BiggusDickus](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/BiggusDickus)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 12:43pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/6 "2023-06-19T12:43:48Z")
Was James Joyce British? Controversial, but technically correct? His letters show that he was definitely into scat. ---
**Author:** ![jimipresley](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/jimipresley/32/102867_2.png) [@jimipresley](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/jimipresley)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 1:18pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/7 "2023-06-19T13:18:04Z")
> [@OysterOmelet](#): > > I’ve written books by the following British people who are hard to follow: N. T. Wright, Simon Conway Morris, and Margaret Barker. You’re a person of many talents. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Jack](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/charlie_jack/32/246096_2.png) [@Charlie\_Jack](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Charlie_Jack)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/8 "2023-06-19T15:15:10Z")
> [@BiggusDickus](#): > > Was James Joyce British? I was gonna just say he was Irish, but then I had a look at some stuff in Wikipedia. Joyce was born in Ireland when it was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. I think he lived the latter part of his life in the Irish Free State, which I think still had some connections to Great Britain. According to Wikipedia, Ireland didn’t become a full republic until 1949. Joyce died in 1941. I think, though, that regardless of official/political designations, Joyce was considered an Irish writer. I certainly think of him as Irish. I’ve written elsewhere on the board about [my frustrating experiences with _Ulysses_](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/bbc-believes-you-only-read-6-of-these-books/82035/25), the last (roughly) one third of which I never finished, in spite of two attempts. The only book of his that I’ve read all the way through is _A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man_, which is not a very long book. But from what little I remember of it, even that not-very-long book was a little bit of a challenge. _Portrait of the Artist_ starts this way: > [@](#): > > Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo. . . . And it ends this way: > [@](#): > >  26 _April:_ Mother is putting my new secondhand clothes in order. She prays now, she says, that I may learn in my own life and away from home and friends what the heart is and what it feels. Amen. So be it. Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race. >  27 _April:_ Old father, old artificer, stand me now and ever in good stead. As far as I know, Joyce invented the word _quark_, but not, as far as I can tell, in the context of physics. ---
**Author:** ![urodacus](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/urodacus/32/69843_2.png) [@urodacus](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/urodacus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 1:58pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/9 "2023-06-22T13:58:08Z")
He gave four of them to mister Mark Perhaps mister Mark later moved on to Caltech. ---
**Author:** ![superking](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/superking/32/197217_2.png) [@superking](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/superking)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/10 "2023-06-22T16:54:45Z")
> [@BiggusDickus](#): > > Was James Joyce British? He lived in London for a spell, and wrote Ulysses there. My dear departed friend Mike took me there when we were young and hashish and backgammon ruled our lives. Joyce spent most of his adult life in Trieste, no? I’ve been of no help in determining his nationality, have I? The OP hasn’t built much of a case, your honour, but the good flobbers of Forumosa are trying their best to light a fire under what little kindling there is. ---
**Author:** ![OysterOmelet](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/oysteromelet/32/219695_2.png) [@OysterOmelet](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/OysterOmelet)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/11 "2023-06-22T17:21:36Z")
> [@superking](#): > > The OP hasn’t built much of a case, your honour, but the good flobbers of Forumosa are trying their best to light a fire under what little kindling there is. Paragraphs like this one are a case in point. ---
**Author:** ![yanom](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/y/3e96dc/32.png) [@yanom](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/yanom)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/12 "2023-06-22T17:44:05Z")
Maybe Americans tend to like their wine/prose fresh, direct, powerful, punchy, macho; Brits tend to prefer aged, complex, fragile, gentle, sophisticated. You pays yer money… ---
**Author:** ![superking](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/superking/32/197217_2.png) [@superking](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/superking)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/13 "2023-06-22T17:58:42Z")
> [@OysterOmelet](#): > > Paragraphs like this one are a case in point. You prefer Grisham? Let me re-jig it for you. _He sought confirmation and he knew just where to find it. His argument was weak, but he had allies…_ ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Milker](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dr_milker/32/181996_2.png) [@Dr\_Milker](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Dr_Milker)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/14 "2023-06-22T18:55:59Z")
> [@OysterOmelet](#): > > > [@superking](#): > > > > The OP hasn’t built much of a case, your honour, but the good flobbers of Forumosa are trying their best to light a fire under what little kindling there is. > > Paragraphs like this one are a case in point. That’s literally a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Jack](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/charlie_jack/32/246096_2.png) [@Charlie\_Jack](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Charlie_Jack)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/15 "2023-06-22T20:28:53Z")
> [@superking](#): > > Joyce spent most of his adult life in Trieste, no? I guess much of it in Trieste, and much of it in Paris. I don’t think I ever knew about his time in Trieste, or if I did, I forgot it. _The Irish Times_ says he went to Trieste at age 22 and lived there for eleven years, but had to leave because of World War I (he had a British passport).[1](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/james-joyce-and-italo-svevo-the-story-of-a-friendship-1.2781454) Hey, now, Wikipedia says he did time as an Engish teacher in Trieste! [2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce#First_stay_in_Trieste) I only glanced at the Wikipedia article, but it seems to place Joyce in Rome, Trieste, Dublin,[3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce#1906%E2%80%931915:_Rome,_Trieste,_and_sojourns_to_Dublin) Zürich,[4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce#1915%E2%80%931920:_Z%C3%BCrich_and_Trieste) and Paris[5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce#1920%E2%80%931941:_Paris_and_Z%C3%BCrich) at various times. Somewhat confusing. _The New York Times_ says he spent 20 years in Paris.[6](https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/17/travel/in-the-footsteps-of-james-joyce-paris.html) ---
**Author:** ![superking](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/superking/32/197217_2.png) [@superking](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/superking)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 9:12pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/16 "2023-06-22T21:12:08Z")
> [@Charlie\_Jack](#): > > _The New York Times_ says he spent 20 years in Paris.[6](https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/17/travel/in-the-footsteps-of-james-joyce-paris.html) Maybe he’s still alive ---
**Author:** ![urodacus](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/urodacus/32/69843_2.png) [@urodacus](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/urodacus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 10:07pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/17 "2023-06-22T22:07:26Z")
Isn’t Ireland one of the British Isles? ---
**Author:** ![OysterOmelet](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/oysteromelet/32/219695_2.png) [@OysterOmelet](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/OysterOmelet)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 6:01am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/18 "2023-06-23T06:01:05Z")
> [@Dr\_Milker](#): > > That’s literally a sentence. Not sure if I should respond to this. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Milker](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dr_milker/32/181996_2.png) [@Dr\_Milker](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Dr_Milker)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 6:59am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/19 "2023-06-23T06:59:20Z")
> [@OysterOmelet](#): > > > [@Dr\_Milker](#): > > > > That’s literally a sentence. > > Not sure if I should respond to this. You just did. 😏 ---
**Author:** ![volv1992](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/volv1992/32/105503_2.png) [@volv1992](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/volv1992)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2023, 7:23am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254/20 "2023-06-23T07:23:06Z")
> [@OysterOmelet](#): > > If I start reading writing by British people, I can’t really tell it’s any different. If the publisher is American, then the spelling and some usage has been Americanized. You’ve spelt omelette incorrectly, and for me it is torturous. [Next page](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/british-peoples-prose/231254.md?page=2)