Addison

Courthope, William John, 1842-1917Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 335K words
Chapters: 34

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Addison by William John CourthopeAuthor: Courthope, William John, 1842-1917,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Nov 27, 2012

Editor's review

This book on Addison, by William John Courthope, is an English critical biography of the eighteenth-century English essayist Joseph Addison. Concise in length, it combines literary-historical context with analysis of the works. Courthope was himself a literary scholar and critic, and his prose has the elegance of the Victorian style; he surveys Addison's life and his achievements in essays for The Spectator and other periodicals, and discusses how his moral writings shaped the social manners of the time. For Chinese readers its value lies not in new material but in offering the perspective of a later critic on a classic author, making it a useful supplementary work for the study of English prose and periodical literature. Readers should note the difference in historical context, as some of the book's judgments carry the prejudices and tastes of the author's own era. The electronic edition is a free public-domain resource, convenient to obtain but lacking notes or an introduction; it is best read alongside relevant literary-historical materials.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying eighteenth-century English prose and periodical literature
Literature enthusiasts interested in Addison and The Spectator
English literature students needing original English critical texts
Readers wishing to understand the style of Victorian literary criticism

Not a good fit for

Readers wanting Addison's own works rather than criticism
Researchers who prefer contemporary academic standards and detailed annotation
General readers with limited English reading ability who need a Chinese translation

Reading tips

Read a chapter on eighteenth-century periodical prose in a history of English literature first to establish context before starting this book.
Note Courthope's grounds for judgment as you read and compare them with contemporary scholarship to identify period biases.
Read alongside selections from Addison's Spectator to check the criticism against specific texts.
The book is short; read it in two or three sessions and write a brief note after each.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a collection of Addison's works or a study?

It is an English critical biography by Courthope, discussing Addison's life and literary achievements; it is not an anthology of Addison's own works. Readers wanting the original essays should look for selections of The Spectator and similar collections.

What level of English is needed to read this book?

The original is nineteenth-century English critical prose, with long sentences and elegant diction; it suits readers with university-level English reading ability and familiarity with literary terminology. Beginners may need a dictionary and a literary-historical introduction as aids.

Why does the electronic edition have no notes or introduction?

This edition comes from the Project Gutenberg public-domain ebook project, which aims to preserve and freely distribute the original text and usually adds no modern editorial notes. Readers can supplement the background with academic editions or literary-historical materials.

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About the author

Courthope, William John, 1842-1917 Author · British · 1842–1917

William John Courthope (1842–1917) was an English poet and literary critic. Public information about his life and education is limited; he is chiefly remembered for his writings on literary history and criticism, most notably A History of English Poetry. He also wrote Addison for the English Men of Letters series, a study of Joseph Addison's life and literary achievements that combines biographical narrative with critical analysis. Courthope's writing tends toward tradition, emphasizing poetic form, versification, and historical context, and he often discusses poets within the broader development of English literature. His critical approach reflects the typical tastes of late Victorian literary scholarship, stressing literary tradition and discipline, and retains some reference value for later study of the history of English poetry.