Picking up a book on grammar takes courage, but the learner can take heart from the fact that many of the great writers, including Charlotte Brontë, were hopeless at grammar at school. Her teachers complained that she "knew nothing of grammar," and could read only "tolerably" and write "indifferently." Yet though learning and obeying the rules of grammar won’t automatically bestow the grace and excellence of a Brontë on your writing, learning how written language works will certainly improve your communication skills, step by practical step. The guide features the13 gremlins of grammar, from apostrophes to verbs;the point of sentence construction;the writing of good English;and witty cartoons by Hunt Emerson.