Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[imchongjun]

Hello, teachers.
I have a question about "inconsistent with the best Blandamer traditions" in the following sentence.

"She had, in fact, been able to impart to Anastasia little except reading, writing and arithmetic, some geography, ...a charity for her neighbours which was rare enough in Cullerne, and a fear of God which was sadly inconsistent with the best Blandamer traditions." (Cullerne is a fictional backwater town owned by Lord Blandamer)

I can understand the sentence easily if the part in question is simply "inconsistent with the Blandamer traditions". Does the author emphasize the fact that the Blandamer family are impious by adding "the best"?

Im Chongjun

[Mister Micawber]

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No, I don't think so-- in the phrase 'the best traditions', 'the best' normally means the most honoured, worthy or respected.
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"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
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Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's