Modern British essayists. First series /

The informal essay, which became popular in the Enlightenment and remained vital into the 20th century, found its greatest popularity in the British Isles. This volume covers essayists of the modern period, whose witty, amiable or caustic commentary served as the centerpiece of British intellectual life. From the highly personal and intellectual prose of William Butler Yeats to the marvelously clear and shrewd essays of George Orwell, this DLB volume contains a wide range of contemplations by the periods most influential thinkers. The informal essay has been in decline for the past several decades, but this cogent collection captures forever the writers who brought the genre to its modern apex.

32 entries include: Mary Coleridge, E. M. Forster, John Galsworthy, Holbrook Jackson, Andrew Lang, D. H. Lawrence, Robert Lynd, George Orwell, Elizabeth Wordsworth, and William Butler Yeats.