A Century of English Essays - Reflections in Literary Time: A Journey Through English Essayistic Brilliance

Thomas Carlyle, Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, William Shakespeare, Percy Bysshe Shelley, William Wordsworth, Joseph Addison, William Caxton, Hilaire Belloc, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Jonathan Swift, William Hazlitt, Edmund Gosse, Alice Meynell, Richard Jefferies, Augustine Birrell, William Makepeace Thackeray, Edward Thomas, Geoffrey Chaucer, Alexander Pope, Austin Dobson, Francis Bacon, W. B. Yeats, G. K. Chesterton, Richard Steele, Grace Rhys

Summary

A Century of English Essays, as its title presages, captures the bustling evolution of the English essay form across several hundred years. This anthology curates an impressive array of perspectives, themes, and literary styles, encapsulating the intellectual zeitgeist of their respective eras. The collection navigates through humor, philosophy, criticism, and narrative with ease, juxtaposing luminary prose against pressing societal issues. Essays range from whimsical reflections on human folly to sophisticated discourses on philosophy and art, each evidencing the inherent capacity of the essay form to entertain, persuade, and provoke. As such, the anthology stands as a testament to the diverse intellectual landscape traversed by English essayists over time. The contributing authors of this anthology are stalwarts of English literature, whose collective backgrounds span multiple centuries of intellectual thought and creativity. Figures such as Shakespeare, Dickens, and Yeats join lesser-known but equally poignant voices like Grace Rhys and Augustine Birrell. Through alignment with Romantic, Victorian, and Modern movements, among others, these essays offer varied insights steeped in historical and cultural relevance. Each contributor adds a unique fiber to the rich tapestry of English thought, enhancing our comprehension of themes such as nature, identity, and society. This anthology is an invaluable resource for readers seeking an engaging exploration of the English essay form. The writings within act as a bridge connecting diverse epochs and ideologies, fostering an informed dialogue between eras. This collection not only educates but also invites reflection upon evolving societal norms and individual contemplation. Readers are encouraged to immerse themselves in this compendium, benefiting from its educational richness and the nuanced perspectives each essayist provides. Ultimately, A Century of English Essays enriches one'Äôs literary experience, proving indispensable for connoisseurs of English literature and new readers alike.

Available since: 10/04/2023.

Print length: 485 pages.

Other books that might interest you

All About Her

Marve Hendry

All About Her is a collection of poems describing key moments in the author's life. It's about the indelible emotions that marked the author's life and the valuable interactions encountered along the way. It deals with grief, anger, depression, sadness, loss, hope, society, fear, love, hate, forgiveness, spirituality and randomness in their different hues. The book is divided into four sections, with each section tugging on a different emotional string. Each section takes you on a different journey in hopes of making you feel what the author felt while living through these unforgettable moments.

Show book

Swing Low volume 1 - A History...

Walter R. Strickland

Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Finalist
A Groundbreaking Portrait of African American Christianity
The history of African American Christianity is one of the determined faith of a people driven to pursue spiritual and social uplift for themselves and others to God's glory. Yet stories of faithful Black Christians have often been forgotten or minimized. The dynamic witness of the Black church in the United States is an essential part of Christian history that must be heard and dependably retold.
In this groundbreaking two-volume work, Walter R. Strickland II does just that through a theological-intellectual history highlighting the ways theology has formed and motivated Black Christianity across the centuries. Through his original research he has identified five theological anchors grounding African Americans in Christian orthodoxy:

- Big God
- Jesus
- Conversion and walking in the Spirit
- The Good Book
- Deliverance
In volume 1, a narrative history, Strickland tells the story of these themes from the 1600s to the present. He explores the crucial ecclesiastical, social, and theological developments, including the rise of Black evangelicalism as well as broader contributions to politics and culture.
Swing Low offers a defining rubric under which to observe, understand, and learn from the diverse and living entity that is African American Christianity. Volume 2, a companion anthology, covers the breadth of these historical developments by presenting primary-source documents so we can listen to Black Christianity in its own words.

Show book

Pax Romana Reimagined

Santiago Machain

In a world where Rome never truly fell, the second breath of the republic surges outward—not by force, but by reason, resilience, and reform. 
Pax Romana Reimagined continues the journey of the Concordian Republic as it navigates the growing pains of survival and rebirth. No longer content with merely holding the center, the republic expands outward: into the wild lands of Gaul, the intellectual depths of the East, and the shifting trade winds of Africa and Asia. 
As new threats rise and old beliefs are tested, the republic embraces bold innovation: building roads that span continents, codifying a modern civic law, empowering inventors and women, and defending itself not only with legions, but with learning. This volume explores how a society reimagines its purpose—not around emperors or divine lineage, but through education, cooperation, and a vision that transcends borders. 
From the volcanic ash of Vesuvius to the scrolls of a Silk Road senate, and from merchant councils to the homes of ordinary citizens, Pax Romana Reimagined reveals a republic reborn—stronger, wiser, and deeply human.

Show book

On the Genealogy of Morals

Friedrich Nietzsche

The sight of suffering does one good, the infliction of suffering does one more good - this is a hard maxim, but none the less a fundamental maxim, old, powerful, and "human, all-too-human".
 
In this daring and insightful work, Nietzsche lays bare the hypocrisies at the foundations of our ideas of morality. Considering ideas of good and evil, guilt and conscience, and law and violence along the way, On the Genealogy of Morals takes the reader on a journey through the history of value systems in three masterful essays.
 
His insights are sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes provocative, but always demonstrate the workings of an exceptional mind. Together, this collection of essays makes up one of the most powerful works of modern philosophy that seeks to do nothing less than unravel the mysteries of human nature.

Show book

Hold What Makes You Whole: Poems

Marcus Amaker

This is the audio version of Poet Laureate Marcus Amaker's tenth book, Hold What Makes You Whole. It is read by the author with original music sprinkled in the reading.
~
PRAISE.
Hold What Makes You Whole is a gratifying meditative collection of poems accompanied by kaleidoscopic visual imagery that pulls you in, settles your mind, and makes way for one's own reflections." — Lisa Willis (she/her), executive director of Cave Canem Foundation
~
THE BOOK.
Poet Laureate Marcus Amaker's (he/him) tenth book, Hold What Makes You Whole, is a pocket-sized full-color collection of new and selected works from an award-winning opera librettist, musician, and graphic designer.
Hold What Makes You Whole is a 200-page compilation of jazz, Blackness, self care, fatherhood, Star Wars, social justice, music, and memory.
On the cover of the book is Amaker’s great-great aunt Ruth Robinson, a poet and community leader who published her first book at the age of 65.
~
MEET MARCUS.
Marcus Amaker is a husband, a dad, a son, a music nerd, and a Star Wars obsessive. He served as the first Poet Laureate of Charleston, South Carolina, from 2016-22. In 2021, he became an Academy of American Poets fellow.
His work has been recognized by The Washington Post, The Kennedy Center, American Poets Magazine, Chicago Opera Theater, Button Poetry, NPR, The Chicago Tribune, PBS NewsHour, and more.
In addition to more than 40 electronic music albums, Marcus' poem “The Rain” is on two Grammy-nominated records. June 3, 2021, was named “Marcus Amaker Day” by the mayor of Charleston, SC.

Show book

This Is Me Is That You? -...

Steven Poser

A psychoanalyst's sensitive exploration of schizophrenia through the stories and words of three women patients 
 
 
  
In the spring of 1994, psychoanalyst-in-training Steven Poser arrived for his clinical internship at one of the last remaining nineteenth-century mental hospitals in New England. Intending to observe and offer compassionate care to the most chronically ill patients, he ended up staying for two years, forming close therapeutic relationships with three female patients suffering from schizophrenia, "Agnes," "Mrs. Lutzky," and "Lucia." 
 
 
  
Drawing from his clinical diary, Poser presents his encounters with the women in their own words, each speaking in a poetry of her own invention. Rather than treat the women as casualties of their illness or their words and actions as nonsensical, Poser sees his patients as dignified and struggling people—and not as markedly different from the rest of us as we might think. This is a deeply human book about the frailty and importance of human connection and the intangibly healing force of being heard.

Show book