Posted by Robert Thompson on May 21, 1999 at 23:26:25 from tenor1.demon.co.uk:
In Reply to: Re: Australian newsletter website - Furthest/Farthest posted by Edwin M. Kiser on May 21, 1999 at 04:27:27:
Typing out the whole of S&A and Swallowdale - now there's a novel way of practising for the latest quiz! Congratulations on, as you say, a labour of love.
My point about the use of Furthest/Farthest was not which one was used in which book but merely that the Puffin paperback editions took it upon themselves to revise nearly all the spellings to Farthest. Of the 25 examples of Furthest in S&A mentioned by your speedy research, all but four have been changed. (I checked all your references for this - manually!) In general the American Godine editions stick closely to the original Cape editions.
You do make an interesting point as to the complete change of heart, spelling-wise, for Swallowdale.
Time for a new thread, methinks - Oxford Dictionary says Furthest and Farthest are interchangeable!
By the way - does anyone know any sinister reason why I become "Robert Livingstone" in a previous thread? (message 3166) Perhaps it was a cyberslip to use "Livingstone" - I presume.
Robert Thompson