Ladykiller
Sir: Dot Wordsworth's remarks (Mind your language, 27 November) about the proper and improper use of titles — 'Baroness' for `Lady' — are not new. The first edition of Fowler's Modem English Usage, which was planned and largely written before 1914, has an article on titles which refers to 'a curious and regrettable change' which 'has come about in the last 20 or 30 years'; this change being the common use of Marquis, Earl, Viscount etc. instead of the simple "Lord' and Marchioness where 'Lady' used to be good enough. Fowler attributes this change to the influence of the Japanese, and describes it as more remarkable than pleasing.
The second edition of Fowler, as revised by Sir Ernest Gowers in 1965, reproduces this article with appropriate modification, taking into account the passing of time, and adding that Baronesseses in their own right are often called Baroness, since the title Lady is not necessarily indicative of the birth or merit of the lady herself. I'm not quite sure how to take that.
Jo Stansfield
Flat C, 31 Porchester Square, London W2
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