When “Misspellings” in Novels Aren’t Actually Misspelled

I love reading books from different countries, but one thing always stands out—words that look “wrong” but aren’t.

Take colour versus color or counsellor versus counselor. Both spellings are correct, just different depending on where the writer is from. Yet, some readers mistake these variations for errors.

I once read a scathing book review that stuck with me. The American reviewer criticized the book for being “full of misspellings” and even went so far as to count how many appeared on each page. The book, however, was written by an Australian author—and every word was spelled correctly according to Australian English.

The review wasn’t just unfair; it revealed the reader’s ignorance and reduced the author’s standing in the reviewing system. Instead of recognizing that English varies across regions, she assumed her version was the only “correct” one. It’s like criticizing a British author for writing about someone “travelling” instead of “traveling” or for spelling “realise” with an “s” instead of a “z.”

English is a global language with many variations. British, American, Australian, and Canadian English all have their own spelling conventions, and none are wrong. It’s simply a matter of where the writer is from.

As readers, we should be aware of these differences rather than judge a book unfairly. Instead of fixating on spelling, we should focus on the story, the characters, and the ideas within the pages.

After all, English is a language that belongs to more than just one country, and that’s part of what makes it so rich and diverse.

-M

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