Synopsis
Excerpt from Anecdotes, Observations, and Characters, of Books and Men
HE French abound in collections of this nature. Which they have distinguished with the title of Ana. England has produced few examples of the kind, but they are eminently excellent.
Présentation de l'éditeur
Joseph Spence (1699–1768) was ordained after graduating from Oxford, and having made the acquaintance of Alexander Pope, was helped by him to the professorship of poetry at Oxford, which he held for ten years from 1728. At the same time (and while holding the living of Birchanger in Essex) he began the first of several extended European journeys, accompanying nobility on the Grand Tour. He had published various literary works before his death in 1768, but left a number of manuscripts to be published at the discretion of his executors. They decided to take no action, but these anecdotes of Alexander Pope and his contemporaries came into the possession of a bookseller called Carpenter, who had them edited, and published them, prefaced with a life of Spence, in 1820. This is a fascinating compilation of anecdotes, aphorisms and biographical details about the most famous poet of his age.
Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.