Aristide Of Le Figaro

Is it true that French people enjoy reading grammar articles over their coffee and croissants? Can matters of language really be so interesting and absorbing? For thirty years, Aristide composed his Usage et grammaire and Divertissements grammaticaux for one of France’s foremost daily newspapers, Le Figaro. His fans avidly read his weekly chroniques de langue, corresponding with him and asking him questions, which he delighted in answering. His linguistic writings, topical, witty and elegant, are both entertaining and instructive. This book on Aristide’s work will be appreciated by lovers of the French language the world over. Although written in English, it is peppered throughout with extracts from Aristide’s weekly rubriques. Aristide stood in the long tradition of French grammarians, some purist and others relatively laxist. Bernard Pivot described him as one who was «sévère pour une faute de français, indulgent pour un français en faute».