Res Judicatæ: Papers and Essays

A series of literary essays and lectures offering critical portraits of major eighteenth- and nineteenth-century writers and thinkers. The author examines individual lives and works—covering figures such as Richardson, Gibbon, Cowper, Borrow, Newman, Arnold, Hazlitt, and Sainte-Beuve—and discusses topics including letters, authors' experiences in court, nationality, and the Reformation. Tone mixes biographical anecdote, close reading, and personal reflection, balancing appreciative commentary with mild skepticism. Arranged as stand-alone pieces, the essays aim to illuminate writers' characters, methods, and social contexts while exploring broader questions about literary taste, moral judgement, and the relation between an author's life and their work.