Mothers & Daughters, new book by Erica James

Grammatically it should be the elder when we are talking of two, and eldest when we talk of three or more.

However, some famous grammarian, and I cannot remember if it was Fowler or not, states that if you have only two children, sisters, brothers etc. you can correctly referred to the older of the two as the eldest.

The reasoning is not given, but perhaps this usage dates from the times when families were larger and children who had died in childhood were still counted when relatives enumerated the family.

(as long as the sinks stay out of the bathroom...)

i see what you mean, but as there is no confusion of meaning, it wouldn't bother me.
guess i don't belong in this particular corner...

Yes it annoys me too. And it's becoming increasingly common. R4 talking about someone's (Charles's?) eldest son recently.

Yes, I’d agree, grannyrebel.

Publishers’ editing is certainly not wot it used to be!

I seem to recall ‘eldest’ instead of ‘elder’ in a Jane Austen novel, but I couldn’t say which.

I love Erica James - hope it's good despite everything. Please let us know...... about the book.

It would bug me too. Is there a possibility that there was a miscarriage or stillbirth between the two, though?