Physical description

Hard cover book,The Rambler & The Idler
Author: Dr. Samuel Johnson, Mr. Town, John Hawkesworth
Publisher: William P Nimmo, 14 King William St, The Strand, London. W1.
Date: 1876
Further Information: The flyleaf reads The Rambler and the Idler. By Samuel Johnson. The Adventurer. By John Hawkesworth. The Connoisseur. By (Mr. Town Pen Name)
Green Cloth hardcover with a green spine and lettering in black texter. The spine has a Library label with an inscription.

Publication type

non-fiction

Inscriptions & markings

The label on the spine cover with typed text PAT 823 JOH
Paste down front end paper has a sticker from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute and Free Library covered by a sticker from Corangamite Regional Library Service
Front loose end paper has a stamp from Corangamite Regional Library Service
Flyleaf has a stamp from Warrnambool Mechanics Institute

Summary

This single 1876 volume combines four of the most influential weekly and semi weekly periodical essay series of the mid-18th century. Despite the phrasing of the era, these are not fiction stories or novels. They are periodical essays brief, single-topic pieces written to critique, educate, and entertain 18th-century readers. The collection covers three themes: morality and human nature, with a focus on reflections relating to the disappointments of life, the inevitability of death, managing one's passions, and the search for true happiness, featuring mainly in The Rambler; social satire and manners, with lighthearted and witty take downs of London high society, modern trends, vanity, and standard eccentric characters of the town; and literary criticism, with essays that analyse contemporary poetry and the theatre, along with the evolving English language.