author
Joseph (Lexicographer) Devlin
Known for practical guides to clear English, this early-20th-century lexicographer wrote for everyday readers who wanted to speak and write with more confidence. His best-known work turns grammar, usage, and style into straightforward advice rather than academic lecture.
1 Audiobook
How to Speak and Write Correctly
by Joseph (Lexicographer) Devlin
About the author
Joseph Devlin was an American author and lexicographer best known for How to Speak and Write Correctly, a guide first published in 1910 and later widely circulated through Project Gutenberg and other public-domain libraries.
Library and catalog records also connect him with reference works such as A Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms and dictionary projects based on Noah Webster’s work. Taken together, those books suggest a writer focused on practical English usage, vocabulary, and helping ordinary readers express themselves more clearly.
Reliable biographical detail about his personal life is limited in the sources I could confirm, so the surviving picture is mostly of Devlin through his books: a language guide author whose work sat between dictionary-making, usage advice, and self-education.