By Sharon K. Gilbert

Because the novels are in many ways an homage to the beautiful British novels of the 19th century, I chose to use British spelling throughout the books. As an American writer, that presents a challenge, because I don’t tend to use those spellings on a day to day basis. Of course, I don’t generally say ‘whilst’ instead of ‘while’ either, but my characters do. In fact, because I have been using a more archaic form of speech ‘whilst’ writing the books this past year, I sometimes find myself speaking that way, and when writing or reading my first choice sometimes is the British version of a word.

So whilst reading the books, you may also be learning how Brits in the 19th century spoke and ‘spelt’ their words. Here’s a link to a site that’s helped me navigate these unfamiliar linguistic waters. If you spend much time here, you’ll soon find yourself writing ‘favour’ rather than favor and ‘licence’ rather than license.

Spelling the British Way
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