About This Book
An assortment of short essays offers concise portraits and critical reflections on notable literary figures—Hazlitt, FitzGerald, Thoreau, Stevenson, Keats, and Anatole France—alongside pieces on style, memory, quotability, and the virtues of obscurity. Mixing biographical anecdotes, close readings, and personal commentary, the writer examines how temperament and attention to nature shape literary expression, defends the traveler's notebook, considers American letters, and celebrates verbal charm. The tone is appreciative and elliptical, favoring impressionistic sketches over exhaustive scholarship.