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  3. Cambridge Library Collection - English Men of Letters

In the 1870s, Macmillan publishers began to issue a series of books called 'English Men of Letters' – biographies of English writers by other English writers. The general editor of the series was the journalist, critic, politician and supporter (and later biographer) of Gladstone, John Morley (1838–1923). The first volume published was Samuel Johnson, by Leslie Stephen (1878), and the first series (which continued until 1892) eventually consisted of 39 volumes. The aim was to provide a short introduction to each subject and his works, but also that the life should illuminate the works, and vice versa. All the subjects were men, as were all but one of the authors (Mrs Oliphant on Sheridan); and all but one (Hawthorne) were English or Irish. The subjects range chronologically from Chaucer to Thackeray and Dickens, and an important feature of the series is that many of the authors (Henry James on Hawthorne, Ward on Dickens) were discussing writers of the previous generation, and some (Trollope on Thackeray) had even known their subjects personally. The series exemplifies the British approach to literary biography and criticism at the end of the nineteenth century and also reveals which authors were at that time regarded as canonical.

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39 results in Cambridge Library Collection - English Men of Letters

Page 2 of 2

Shelley
  • John Addington Symonds
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1878
  • John Addington Symonds (1840–93), well known as an author, poet and critic, wrote this biography of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) in an attempt to portray the complete man. Shelley, Symonds writes, was more than a controversial atheist. He was full of earnest conviction, enthusiasm, and intellectual vigour, but also extravagance, crudity and presumption. Published in 1878 in the first series of English Men of Letters, this book thus provides an account of a literary life famously cut short, describing a writer whose intellectual and poetic legacy was perhaps not fully appreciated in the Victorian period, when the response to his poems was frequently coloured by antipathy to his revolutionary ideas and his unconventional private life, as well as to his loudly proclaimed atheism.

Hawthorne
  • Henry James
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    27 October 2011
    First published in:
    1879
  • This critical essay and biography by Henry James (1843–1916) of his fellow American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–64), today best remembered for The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables, was published in the first 'English Men of Letters' series in 1879, and is notable for being the only volume in that series devoted to an American. It is now recognised as being one of the first critical studies of an American writer, and it remains an important work for students and admirers both of James and of Hawthorne. In his critical assessment, James, whose own writing was strongly influenced by Hawthorne, seeks to identify him not only as a great novelist, but particularly as an American novelist, rooted in the landscape, and speaking in the language, of the New World.

Southey
  • Edward Dowden
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1879
  • This 1879 biography of poet and author Robert Southey (1774–1843), friend of Coleridge and Wordsworth, and Poet Laureate, provided a fresh and concise account of his literary endeavours and personal experiences. Written by Edward Dowden (1843–1913), an author and poet of the subsequent generation, and published in the first series of English Men of Letters, the work charts Southey's life, education, travels and literary activities, as well as his changing political views from the Jacobinism of his youth to the relatively conservative outlook of his later years. The book is notable for the extensive quotations which allow the reader to hear the subject's voice, but takes its cue from the writings as a whole instead of engaging in the analysis of individual books and poems.

Bunyan
  • James Anthony Froude
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1879
  • John Bunyan (1628–88), the Bedfordshire tinker and non-conformist preacher, is best known for writing The Pilgrim's Progress. Published in 1880 in the first series of English Men of Letters, this revealing biography by J. A. Froude (1818–94), historian and friend and biographer of Thomas Carlyle, traces Bunyan's life from his troubled childhood to his early spiritual experiences, his career as a dissenting minister and his imprisonment (during which he contemplated and wrote many of his works) for preaching unlawfully. Setting The Pilgrim's Progress within the context of Bunyan's life, Froude argues that the struggles of its 'hero', Christian, to overcome temptation and sin reflected Bunyan's personal turmoil as he was plagued with guilt and self-doubt, feelings that were only further compounded upon his religious conversion. Froude's study can be read with interest today by scholars of theology and literature alike.

Sheridan
  • Margaret Oliphant
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    27 October 2011
    First published in:
    1883
  • The Scots novelist Margaret Oliphant (1828–97) published this biography of the playwright and poet Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) in the first 'English Men of Letters' series in 1883. Sheridan is best known for his plays The Rivals, A Trip to Scarborough, and The School for Scandal, which was his most popular work among his contemporaries. Sheridan was also at one point the owner of the famous Theatre Royal on Drury Lane, which he purchased with his father-in-law in 1776. He led a radical political career, becoming a Whig MP in 1780 and quickly developing a reputation as a brilliant orator. He defended the French Revolution and supported American colonists against British colonial policy. Oliphant's biography covers Sheridan's youth, dramatic writing, political career and middle age; her vivid and sympathetic portrayal provides a valuable insight into his remarkable life.

Fielding
  • Austin Dobson
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    27 October 2011
    First published in:
    1883
  • At the outset of this book, published in the first 'English Men of Letters' series in 1883, the poet and author Austin Dobson (1840–1921) declares his intention to restrict himself to giving a 'purely biographical' account of the life of the lawyer, novelist and dramatist Henry Fielding (1707–54). Fielding is probably best remembered today for his novels Joseph Andrews and The History of Tom Jones (1749), but in his own day he was famous not only for his writings in many different genres but also for his work as an innovatory Justice of the Peace in London. Dobson recounts Fielding's life from his schooldays at Eton to the production of his first play, and his subsequent careers as a writer, magistrate and controversialist, until his death in Portugal (where he had travelled in the hope that the climate would improve his health) in October 1754.

Spenser
  • Richard William Church
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1879
  • Edmund Spenser (1552–99) has been described as one of the greatest English poets, and is best known for The Faerie Queene, which he composed in celebration of the Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. Published in the first series of English Men of Letters in 1879, this biography by R. W. Church (1815–90), Dean of St Paul's, recounts Spenser's life and work, hailing him as a genius who continued the Chaucerian tradition of reflecting the deepest human passions through verse. Beginning with an account of his early life and his time as a Cambridge scholar, Church moves on to explore Spenser's career as secretary to Lord Grey of Wilton, the then Lord Deputy of Ireland. He concludes with a detailed analysis of The Faerie Queene, explaining its significance as a work of moral philosophy, and one that represented a cornerstone of English literary history.

De Quincey
  • David Masson
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1881
  • Combining intellectual enthusiasm with analytical bite, David Masson's biography of the self-confessed opium eater provides readers with valuable insights into an author whose life oscillated between respectability, vagrancy and infamy. Published in the first series of English Men of Letters in 1881, only two decades after the death of Thomas de Quincey (1785–1859), and written by a man who, like his subject in his more prosperous years, was a journalist and editor in the heart of literary London, Masson's account describes a man and a nation at the peak of their cultural influence. Covering not only the Confessions, but also his less well known essays in the London Magazine, Blackwood's, the Edinburgh Saturday Post and the Instructor, this literary portrait places the life - debts and drug use, but also fame, success and the friendship of some of the greatest writers of the age - in the context of the works.

Daniel Defoe
  • William Minto
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1879
  • Published in the first series of English Men of Letters in 1879, a time when a complete edition of Daniel Defoe's works was yet to be collated, this biograhical account by William Minto (1845–93) was a significant achievement in literary scholarship as well as an engaging portrait of a colourful and outspoken polemicist. Himself a journalist and essayist for the pioneering Pall Mall Gazette and the Daily News, Minto combines the critical insight of a literary scholar with the empathy and understanding of a fellow writer. Spanning the novelist's entire life (c. 1659–1731), from the passions of his youth to the publication of Robinson Crusoe, his 'later journalistic labours' and the impact of literary success, this biography tells how Defoe disproved the rule that the lives of men of letters are rarely eventful.

Samuel Johnson
  • Leslie Stephen
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1878
  • The English poet, literary critic, biographer and lexicographer Samuel Johnson (1709–84) is perhaps most famous for his Dictionary of the English Language and the influential Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, and is often considered the most distinguished man of letters in English history. First published in 1878 in the first series of 'English Men of Letters', this biography by the eminent critic Sir Leslie Stephen traces Johnson's life from his childhood to his career as a writer and literary critic, and concludes with an overview of his works. Stephen describes Johnson's style as one of 'masculine directness', reflecting a life blighted by experiences of poverty and disease, and a desire to escape from pain. Painting a striking portrait of one of the most vigorous intellects of the eighteenth century, this work remains of interest to literary scholars today.

Goldsmith
  • William Black
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1878
  • Written by Scottish novelist William Black (1841–98), this biography of the Irish-born poet, dramatist and novelist Oliver Goldsmith (c.1728–74) was published in 1878 as the sixth book in the first series of English Men of Letters. Goldsmith is best known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766) and the play She Stoops to Conquer (1771), as well as his close association with Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, and William Hogarth. The biography is a colourful one: as Black observes, Goldsmith, who was trained as a physician but whose whole career was in literature, possessed a 'happy knack of enjoying the present hour', and his pursuit of pleasure frequently left him in debt. Black himself was one of the most prolific and popular writers of his day; a collected edition of his works published 1892–4 ran to twenty-six volumes.

Charles Lamb
  • Alfred Ainger
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1882
  • Written by clergyman Alfred Ainger (1837–1904), this 1882 biography of writer Charles Lamb (1775–1834) is the twenty-first book in the first series of 'English Men of Letters'. Charles Lamb began publishing his poetry in the late 1790s. Both he and his sister Mary (1764–1847), who had been released into Charles' care after killing their mother in a fit of insanity in 1796, began writing for children with the encouragement of William Godwin, their works including the Tales from Shakespeare (1807) for which they are best known. Lamb was also widely regarded for his skill as an essayist, and particularly for his Essays of Elia. Ainger devoted much of his career to Lamb's life and writings, including a six-volume edited collection of Lamb's work. His biography focuses on Lamb's literary output and his place as a critic as well as the events of the writer's life.

Hume
  • Thomas Henry Huxley
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    27 October 2011
    First published in:
    1879
  • What is philosophy about? According to the author of this work (published in the first series of 'English Men of Letters' in 1879) it is fundamentally the answer to the question: 'What can I know?' T. H. Huxley (1825–95), the distinguished English scientist and disciple of Darwin, succeeds in giving a clear and succinct account of the way in which Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711–56) answered this question. The book is divided into two parts: in the first, Huxley provides the reader with a sketch of Hume's life, but the main emphasis of the book is in Part 2, where by expounding Hume's views on the object of philosophy, consciousness, theology, language and free will, Huxley guides the reader towards an understanding of how Hume's philosophical principles can be regarded as a search for the ultimate element out of which all valid knowledge may be shown to emerge.

Gibbon
  • James Cotter Morison
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1878
  • Described by his biographer as the author of 'monumental and supreme' histories, Edward Gibbon (1737–94) is widely acknowledged as a major figure of the Enlightenment and the father of modern historical scholarship. However, despite these epithets, the personal life of one of the eighteenth century's most successful authors remains unknown to many of his readers. Published in the first series of English Men of Letters in 1878 (and going into a second edition in the same year), this biography by James Cotter Morison (1832–88) provides a learned but accessible account of the man who wrote The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Starting with a childhood plagued by ill health and infirmity, and covering Gibbon's time in the militia and travelling on the Grand Tour, Morison leads readers through a life which was apparently unremarkable, but in fact resulted in a work of enduring scholarly achievement.

Addison
  • William Courthope
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1884
  • W. J. Courthope's biography of politician and writer Joseph Addison (1672–1719) was published in 1884 in the first series of English Men of Letters. Educated at Harrow and Oxford, Courthope (1842–1917) was elected fellow of the British Academy in 1907. His scholarly works include a biography and edition of the works of Alexander Pope. This work begins not with an account of Addison's birth and childhood but instead with an essay on 'The State of English Society and Letters after the Restoration', contextualising a writer whose periodical essays were still widely read and enjoyed in the late nineteenth century. The book focuses more on Addison's literary career than his political activity in support of the Whigs, devoting chapters to his work for The Tatler, The Spectator (which he co-founded with Richard Steele) and The Guardian, his tragedy Cato, and his notorious quarrel with Pope.

Gray
  • Edmund Gosse
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    27 October 2011
    First published in:
    1882
  • Thomas Gray (1716–71) was one of the most influential poets of the eighteenth century, and is probably best remembered today for his Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. In this biography of Gray, first published in the first 'English Men of Letters' series in 1882, poet and critic Edmund Gosse (1849–1928) delivers a sympathetic account of his subject, offering both a traditional chronological narrative of Gray's life, from his schooldays at Eton, through his travels abroad and his academic career at Cambridge (though he was appointed professor of modern history in 1768, failing health meant that he never delivered any lectures), and an analysis of his poetry. In the book's last chapter, Gosse laments the lack of recognition that Gray had received in England since his death: Dr Johnson is criticised especially for his writings on Gray - 'barren and meagre of fact to the last degree'.

Sterne
  • Henry Duff Traill
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1882
  • Lawrence Sterne (1713–69) was an Anglican clergyman best remembered as the author of the satirical and highly influential novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. After his ordination in 1738, Sterne led the life of a country vicar in Yorkshire, publishing a few satirical works before his masterpiece, which emerged in nine volumes between 1759 and 1767. The first two volumes were an immediate success, bringing him wealth, fame, and a place at the heart of contemporary English literary society. This work, published in the first series of English Men of Letters in 1882 by the journalist (and editor of Carlyle) Henry Duff Traill (1842–1900), provides a clear and informative biography. Drawing on Sterne's detailed letters to his daughter, Traill provides a fascinating account of Sterne's early life and his clerical career together with an analysis of his writing and influence upon English literature.

Swift
  • Leslie Stephen
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    03 November 2011
    First published in:
    1882
  • Sir Leslie Stephen (1832–1904) came from a distinguished family of politicians, jurists and writers, and was the father of Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf. His literary career began with writing about his great passion, the Alps, and he became a noted author and critic, and the first editor of the Dictionary of National Biography. He was a friend of John Morley (1838–1923), the general editor of English Men of Letters, who commissioned him to write three biographies for the first series, on Swift, Pope and Johnson. Stephen is very interested in the family connections and history of Jonathan Swift (1667–1745), the great satirist and moralist, and he blends direct sources with general conclusions in an informal style which makes the work (first published in 1882) of continuing interest today. Stephen's Sketches from Cambridge, published anonymously in 1865, is also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection.

Bentley
  • R. C. Jebb
  • Published online:
    07 September 2010
    Print publication:
    22 April 2010
    First published in:
    1882
  • First published in 1882, this is a biography of the English clergyman, scholar and classicist, Richard Bentley (1662–1742). Born in West Yorkshire, educated at Wakefield Grammar School and later at St John's College in Cambridge, Bentley became one of the most respected textual critics of his day. Among students of the Greek New Testament, he is remembered as the first person to define a plan for constructing the whole of the text directly from the original documents. Bentley became a prominent and controversial figure during his time as Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. His temper and his contemptuous treatment of his colleagues led to various attempts to secure his removal and embroiled him in controversy and feuding for the next 30 years. Despite all this, Bentley continued his classical research and published books that are studied to this day.

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