Preface or Foreword

A Preface is written by the author of the material following in the body of the book: it usually sets out the reasons for undertaking this work. A Foreword is a similar introductory piece in the front matter, before we’re into the book itself, but written by another person, more or less eminent, telling us, the publisher and author hope, how brilliant the material following is. The Chicago Manual of Style does allow for the intermediate life-form of an “Editorial Preface”. But does it really matter though if a Foreword is labelled Preface or vice versa? If it is, it’s merely a signal that the book’s been published by an inexperienced publisher. (I did however just come across a Preface labelled Foreword in a Cambridge University Press book, so perhaps the adjective shouldn’t be “inexperienced”, rather “careless”!) Either way I don’t think it matters very much. Used to be men would stand up when a lady joined the group or hold doors open for their approach. We don’t all do this any…