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This charming collection brings together dozens of popular newspaper columns written by acclaimed essayist Sara Willis (pen name Fanny Fern). On topics ranging from marriage to friendships between women, Fern dispenses her trademark brand of wit and wisdom.
Whether you're a long-time fan of British author Samuel Butler (best known for his shrewd satire of utopian fiction, Erewhon) or you're just diving into his diverse body of work, this omnibus collection is an engaging read that's sure to catch and hold your interest. It contains excerpts from both his fiction and his non-fiction and serves as a suitable overview of his unique oeuvre.
Though best remembered as an important German poet, Heinrich Heine was also a prolific writer of prose. He supported himself for a time as a foreign correspondent, as well as by penning essays on a number of topics, including literary criticism and philosophy. This volume offers readers a broad selection of Heine's prose works.
In this engaging collection of essays from George Gissing, the narrator of the fictional frame story describes himself as having been charged with the difficult task of editing a recently deceased friend's papers. The essays, sketches and observations are arranged according to a seasonal theme, and each of the four sections offers keen insights about the cycles of nature and of life.
Some of American essayist Henry Tuckerman's finest work is brought together in the eclectic volume The Collector. Topics run the gamut from a well-researched history of oldest London's pubs and taverns to a series of astute and keenly observed critical essays on literature, art, and drama.
Take a literary tour of the Emerald Isle with this engaging collection of essays from Irish writer and politician Stephen Gwynn. He addresses numerous elements of Irish literature with insight and wit, including folklore, humor, historical fiction, and many others.
Influential English art and culture critic John Ruskin turns his focus to ancient myth in this compelling volume. Containing the complete texts of three of Ruskin's lectures, the critic's lyrical prose and keen insight shed new light on a number of Greek mythological figures.
In this literary smackdown, one giant of American literature thoroughly demolishes the literary output of another. With his trademark plainspoken wit, Mark Twain presents a catalog of everything he hates about the work of James Fenimore Cooper, author of such classics as The Last of the Mohicans. Whether you're Team Twain or Team Fenimore Cooper, you're sure to be entertained by this cutting takedown.
In this delightful volume of essays and tales, Washington Irving describes the holiday traditions of England and how they were imported into the then-young United States. Whether during the holiday season or any time of the year, Old Christmas is a charming and thought-provoking read.
In the mid-nineteenth century, newspaper columnist Fanny Fern was one of the leading literary luminaries of the United States. Millions of readers obsessively read her weekly missives, and her book-length collections of her columns were perennial bestsellers. This collection brings together a number of her most popular essays, many of which deal with domestic and relationship issues with a light, humorous touch.
11) At Large
Renowned essayist and fiction writer Arthur Christopher Benson had a unique way of looking at the world that never seemed to atrophy or stagnate. In the many collections he published over the course of his career, Benson's views on life evolved, but the keenness of his insight never dulled. These essays explore topics ranging from travel to controversial social issues of the day.
12) Fresh Leaves
The columnist Sara Willis, who wrote under the pen name Fanny Fern, achieved a remarkable level of popularity and success over the course of her career. By the mid-1850s, she was the highest-paid newspaper columnist in the United States, earning $100 per essay. This collection of her columns was one of the best-selling books of the era. The pieces collected highlight the sly humor and breezy, conversational style that led to Fern's widespread fame.
...American fiction writer Henry James played a major role in shaping the literary sensibility of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, not only through his own stories and novels, but also with his insightful and perceptive literary criticism. Essays in this volume address a number of significant American and British authors, including Walt Whitman, George Eliot and Charles Dickens.
14) Pagan Papers
This early collection of short works from The Wind in the Willows author Kenneth Grahame will come as a pleasant surprise to fans of his fiction geared for younger audiences. Though sharing the same whimsical irreverence as his juvenile fiction, these essays and sketches are characterized by a dry, sophisticated wit that will appeal to grownups.
Although he is regarded as one of the most important figures in American literature on account of his novels and short stories, Henry James was also a prolific writer of letters, sometimes penning as many as three or four in a single day. In this comprehensive volume, letters addressed to family members and literary figures including William Dean Howells and Robert Louis Stevenson are collected, spanning topics from the lofty to the quotidian.
French writer Theophile Gautier dabbled in virtually every literary genre imaginable over the course of his varied career. In this thought-provoking and finely wrought collection of autobiographical essays, Gautier offers some fascinating nuggets about his lifestyle, friends and—most notably—his relationship to animals, particularly dogs and horses.
18) Side Lights
Born in Northumberland in 1852, James Runciman was trained as a teacher and spent many years working as an educator. Once established in his career, he began penning personal essays and opinion pieces in his spare time. This collection brings together a number of his works on topics ranging from marriage to the ethics of writing.
Spanish-born philosopher George Santayana made a number of significant contributions to his academic discipline, but his popularity stretched beyond the ivory tower when he began to publish his essays and observations for a wider audience. The collection Winds of Doctrine offers readers a glimpse of Santayana's personal perspective with his insightful assessments of several influential philosophers and literary figures.
What do we mean when we call an object or experience "beautiful"? What are the mental, cognitive, psychological and spiritual processes that transpire when we encounter something with significant aesthetic value? These questions are at the heart of the insightful Beauty and the Beast: An Essay in Evolutionary Aesthetic, a long-form exploration of beauty and all of its beguiling facets.
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