Obiter Dicta: Second Series

Birrell, Augustine, 1850-1933Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 313K words
Chapters: 32

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.Obiter Dicta: Second Series by Augustine BirrellAuthor: Birrell, Augustine, 1850-1933,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jun 10, 2007

Editor's review

Obiter Dicta: Second Series is an essay collection by the English writer and politician Augustine Birrell (1850–1933), the second installment in his "Obiter Dicta" series. Writing as both a lawyer and a politician, Birrell has an easy, pointed style, adept at mixing narrative and commentary in conversational pieces that record his observations on men of letters, books, and the ways of the world. This edition was prepared and released by Project Gutenberg in 2019 as a public-domain English literary resource, gathering representative essays from the English essay tradition, elegant in language yet not obscure. Readers may use it to understand the tastes and modes of argument of the English essay from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, or as material for close reading of English prose. It suits quiet, unhurried reading; each piece stands alone, so there is no need to proceed in order. Because the original is in English and carries period vocabulary and allusions, non-native readers would do well to read it alongside annotations or a translation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love the English essay and prose tradition and want to broaden their reading
English majors or learners who wish to train their feel for the language through close reading of the original
Readers interested in late nineteenth-century English literary circles and book talk
Those who need short, self-contained texts suited to reading in fragments of time

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a continuous plot or novel-like narrative
Those with weak English reading skills who are unwilling to look up allusions and unfamiliar words
Readers who prefer contemporary topics and fast-paced expression

Reading tips

Read essay by essay; after finishing each, close the book, recall its argument, and make brief notes
Read the English original alongside a reliable translation; when encountering a name or title, look up the background first, then return to the text
Keep a notebook to record quotations and allusions from the text, building your own index of book talk

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 novel or an essay collection?

It is an essay collection, belonging to the "obiter dicta" strain of the English prose tradition, not a novel. The pieces are relatively independent, mostly discussing men of letters, books, and the ways of the world; there is no plot to follow.

Can someone with average English read it?

The original is in English and carries the vocabulary and allusions of the late nineteenth to early twentieth century, so readers with average English will find it difficult to read directly. It is advisable to use a translation or an annotated edition, learn the background of each piece first, then return to the original for close reading and gradual accumulation.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

This edition was prepared and released by Project Gutenberg as a public-domain e-book resource, easy to obtain and search for free. The text is the English original and generally contains no modern annotations, so readers must supply background material themselves.

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About the author

Birrell, Augustine, 1850-1933 Author

Augustine Birrell (1850–1933) was an English writer and man of letters; public information on the details of his life is limited. Five of his works are held here, chiefly essays and critical papers, together with a literary biography. The essay collections Obiter Dicta and its Second Series represent his achievement in the familiar essay, written with ease and wide reference, offering insight in a conversational manner. In the Name of the Bodleian, and Other Essays centres on libraries and books and conveys a booklover's pleasure, while Res Judicatæ: Papers and Essays gathers further papers and essays. He also wrote Andrew Marvell, a study of the seventeenth-century poet. His polished, bookish style will appeal to readers fond of the English essay tradition. This note is based on the information available here and on well-established public knowledge.