David Wales
Trivia (1917) And More Trivia (1921)
Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946) was an American-born British essayist who was known for his epigrams and aphorisms, often humorous. This re…
Pope Adrian IV; An Historical Sketch
Pope Adrian IV (c. 1100-1159, pope 1154-1159) was the only English pope. Written by a Catholic in 1849, this biography of the pope appeare…
The British Soldier: His Courage And Humour
The Reverend Edward John Hardy, ordained in the Church Of Ireland, was a chaplain in the British army for thirty one years. His 1915 collec…
Naval Occasions And Some Traits Of The Sailor-Man
Twenty-six stories of pre-World War I British naval life in war and peace. - Summary by david wales
And Thus He Came
These short stories, perhaps we might call them modern parables, are not the usual fare of warm and fuzzy Christmas stories (pleasing as tho…
Idle Hours In A Library
“[these essays on Shakespeare, Pepys, Restoration novels, and bohemianism]—the results of many hours of quiet but rather aimless browsing am…
How We Elected Lincoln; Personal Recollections of Lincoln and Men of His Time
Dittenhoefer as a young man campaigned for Lincoln in 1860 and was an elector for Lincoln in the presidential election of 1864. Born in Cha…
Andreas Vesalius, The Reformer of Anatomy
Vesalius (born in Brussels, 1514-1564) is one of the foundation stones of modern medicine. Forsaking the study of anatomy by reading the anc…
Portrait Of A Man With Red Hair; A Romantic Macabre
Is the father insane or merely sadistic, a man entombed in a spirit of malevolence? This 1925 novel by a perceptive observer explores the te…
A Christmas Miscellany 2021
Seven chapters involving Christmas from different books. Plus part 8 which is twelve verses about Christmas and part 9 which is four Christm…
The Discovery Of The Future
The Discovery of the Future is a 1902 philosophical lecture by H. G. Wells that argues for the knowability of the future. It was originally …
Sister Dolorosa
A Carmelite convent in Kentucky in the nineteenth century. A beautiful immature nun. A handsome immature visitor. A chance meeting. Whither?…
The Village and The Library
The Village is Crabbe’s corrective to the rosy-tinted view of English village and rural working class life. He was a stark realist, as a pri…
Minstrel Weather
A series of poetically written meditations on the seasons and other nature subjects. Or “ …Minstrel Weather, a series of open-air vignettes…
Joseph Haydn; Servant And Master
Haydn, barring a few hardships in his youth, lived an extraordinarily fortunate life and had abundant reason for the optimism which marked e…
South-Sea Idyls
The American Charles Warren Stoddard (1843–1909) wrote quite popular travel books, especially those about Polynesia. South-Sea Idyls (1873)…
Religio Journalistici
The great Canadian journalist and humorist ruminates and reflects upon his life and calling in this 1924 little gem. - Summary by david wale…
A Christmas Miscellany
A selection of eight short works, chapters, or poems about Christmas. - Summary by david wales
Reading: An Essay
A famous English author's thoughts on the power of reading. - Summary by David Wales
The Fringes Of The Fleet
The Fringes of the Fleet is a poignant collection of essays and poems by Rudyard Kipling, reflecting on the experiences of the British Navy …