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Literary Nonfiction » Essays

Browse book recommendations:

Literary Nonfiction

  • Biography
  • Essays
  • Famous Artists
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  • Memoir
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“Essays root ideas in personal experience”, the philosopher Alain de Botton tells us in his interview in which he discussed five books of “illuminating essays”.  He chooses The Crowded Dance of Modern Life by Virginia Woolf, as well as a selection of DW Winnicott, The Wisdom of Life by Arthur Schopenhauer, The Secret Power of Beauty by John Armstrong and Yoga for People Who Can’t be Bothered to Do It by Geoff Dyer, which “is in praise of slacker-dom and not doing very much. It’s not about Yoga at all.”

David Russell, Associate Professor at Oxford University, recommends the best Victorian essays, including selections by Charles Lamb, Matthew Arnold, George Eliot, Walter Pater and (one twentieth-century writer) Marion Milner and discusses the connection between the essay and the development of urban culture in the 19th century.

Dame Hermione Lee, the writer’s biographer, chooses her best books on Virginia Woolf.  She discusses how and why her stature has grown so much since the 1960s and selects a range of her books including diaries and novels, as well as essays, including To the Lighthouse, which she considers Woolf’s greatest novel, her Diaries and her essay “Walter Sickert: A Conversation“, which can be seen as a meditation on the disparities between painting and writing as art forms.

Adam Gopnik, of the New Yorker, chooses Woolf’s The Common Reader as well as collections by Max Beerbohm, EB White, Randall Jarrell and Clive James.

    David Russell on The Victorian Essay

  • Read
    David Russell on The Victorian Essay - Selected Prose by Charles Lamb

    1

    Selected Prose
    by Charles Lamb

  • Read
    David Russell on The Victorian Essay - Culture and Anarchy and Other Writings by Matthew Arnold

    2

    Culture and Anarchy and Other Writings
    by Matthew Arnold

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    David Russell on The Victorian Essay - Selected Essays, Poems, and Other Writings by George Eliot

    3

    Selected Essays, Poems, and Other Writings
    by George Eliot

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    David Russell on The Victorian Essay - Studies in the History of the Renaissance by Walter Pater

    4

    Studies in the History of the Renaissance
    by Walter Pater

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    David Russell on The Victorian Essay - The Hands of the Living God: An Account of a Psychoanalytic Treatment by Marion Milner

    5

    The Hands of the Living God: An Account of a Psychoanalytic Treatment
    by Marion Milner

David Russell on The Victorian Essay

With the advent of the Victorian age, polite maxims of eighteenth-century essays in the Spectator were replaced by a new generation of writers who thought deeply—and playfully—about social relationships, moral responsibility, education and culture. Here, Oxford literary critic David Russell explores the distinct qualities that define the Victorian essay and recommends five of its greatest practitioners.

    The best books on Virginia Woolf, recommended by Hermione Lee

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    The best books on Virginia Woolf - To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

    1

    To the Lighthouse
    by Virginia Woolf

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    The best books on Virginia Woolf - The Years by Virginia Woolf

    2

    The Years
    by Virginia Woolf

  • Read
    The best books on Virginia Woolf - Walter Sickert: A Conversation by Virginia Woolf

    3

    Walter Sickert: A Conversation
    by Virginia Woolf

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    The best books on Virginia Woolf - On Being Ill by Virginia Woolf

    4

    On Being Ill
    by Virginia Woolf

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    The best books on Virginia Woolf - Selected Diaries by Virginia Woolf

    5

    Selected Diaries
    by Virginia Woolf

The best books on Virginia Woolf, recommended by Hermione Lee

Virginia Woolf was long dismissed as a ‘minor modernist’ but now stands as one of the giants of 20th century literature. Her biographer, Hermione Lee, talks us through the best Virginia Woolf books, novels and essays, and diaries, of Virginia Woolf.

    Adam Gopnik on his Favourite Essay Collections

  • Read
    Adam Gopnik on his Favourite Essay Collections - And Even Now by Max Beerbohm

    1

    And Even Now
    by Max Beerbohm

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    Adam Gopnik on his Favourite Essay Collections - The Common Reader by Virginia Woolf

    2

    The Common Reader
    by Virginia Woolf

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    Adam Gopnik on his Favourite Essay Collections - Essays of EB White by EB White

    3

    Essays of EB White
    by EB White

  • Read
    Adam Gopnik on his Favourite Essay Collections - A Sad Heart At The Supermarket by Randall Jarrell

    4

    A Sad Heart At The Supermarket
    by Randall Jarrell

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    Adam Gopnik on his Favourite Essay Collections - Visions Before Midnight by Clive James

    5

    Visions Before Midnight
    by Clive James

Adam Gopnik on his Favourite Essay Collections

What makes a great essayist? Who had it, who didn’t? And whose work left the biggest mark on the New Yorker? Longtime writer for the magazine, Adam Gopnik, picks out five masters of the craft

    Alain de Botton recommends the best books of Illuminating Essays

  • Read
    Alain de Botton recommends the best books of Illuminating Essays - The Crowded Dance of Modern Life by Virginia Woolf

    1

    The Crowded Dance of Modern Life
    by Virginia Woolf

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    Alain de Botton recommends the best books of Illuminating Essays - Home Is Where We Start From by D W Winnicott

    2

    Home Is Where We Start From
    by D W Winnicott

  • Read
    Alain de Botton recommends the best books of Illuminating Essays - The Wisdom of Life by Arthur Schopenhauer

    3

    The Wisdom of Life
    by Arthur Schopenhauer

  • Read
    Alain de Botton recommends the best books of Illuminating Essays - The Secret Power of Beauty by John Armstrong

    4

    The Secret Power of Beauty
    by John Armstrong

  • Read
    Alain de Botton recommends the best books of Illuminating Essays - Yoga For People Who Can’t Be Bothered To Do It by Geoff Dyer

    5

    Yoga For People Who Can’t Be Bothered To Do It
    by Geoff Dyer

Alain de Botton recommends the best books of Illuminating Essays

The essay format allows the author to develop ideas but add a personal touch, says the popular philosopher Alain de Botton. Here, he chooses his favourite essay collections

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We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

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