Many UK readers have wondered about–and objected strongly to–the use of the word ‘gotten’ in my books. Since the word is not in common usage in England right now, it seems odd to them to read it at all, and a glaring ‘Americanism’ in a book set in the medieval period. At first glance, this might appear to be yet another instance of ‘two countries separated by a common language,’ but as it turns out, the history of the word ‘gotten’ is a lot more interesting than that. Gotten is, in fact, an English word that was in use in England at the time America was colonized by the English. It is found in the King James version of the Bible. Over the centuries, the Americans kept on using it and the English did not. Using it is not incorrect Read more…