English Traits

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Jan 1856 · Cosimo Classics

About this ebook

"The book has no equal in its kind. It is the wittiest work of America's wittiest writer."

-Mark van Doren, American Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, writer, and critic

In English Traits (1856), Ralph Waldo Emerson blends his observations of the English character based on travels in England with insights gained from his extensive reading of British history. Because of its playfulness, wit, and clarity of style, this book quickly became one of the author's most popular works. In the English culture, Emerson recognized the source of everything American-from the laws of society to the plot of a novel. His observations are organized into 19 essays that include "First Visit to England," "Land," "Race," "Ability," "Manners," "Truth," "Character," "Cocaine," "Wealth," "Aristocracy," "Universities," "Religion," "Literature," "The Times," "Stonehenge," "Personal," "Result," and "Speech at Manchester."

About the author

RALPH WALDO EMERSON (1803-1882) was an American poet and essayist. Universally known as the Sage of Concord, Emerson established himself as a leading spokesman of transcendentalism and as a major figure in American literature. His additional works include a series of lectures published as Representative Men (1850), The Conduct of Life (1860), and Society and Solitude (1870).