nineteen exclamation marks is absurd. three should be adequate for more than the garden variety of surprise or outrage, five is silly and excessive, any number upward of eight is verging on the vulgar, but nineteen is absolutely unacceptable. as she wrote the letter by hand it is all the more inexcusable. it is one thing hitting the ! key on a typewriter repeatedly, but no one could not feel foolish putting down nineteen exclamation marks in a row with pen and paper. and that's the one thing that has left a dent in my respect for dorothy l. sayers.