2006-09-29 10:17:04 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Montaigne and Emerson seem to be favourites at the mo. Anyone consider Hazlitt to be in the running?
2006-09-29 12:55:19 · update #1
Montaigne.
Emerson a good choice too. And James Baldwin is an inspired choice. And George Orwell should be on the list.
But Montaigne is like the Babe Ruth of essayists -- the one who defined the form and what it could do, that mix of the personal with the social, political and philosophical, and whose achievement set the standard for those who followed. He invented the form, and the word for it.
Heres a link to Wikipedia on Montaigne, for what it is worth:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montaigne
Here is a link to one translation of some of his essays:
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/m/montaigne/michel/m76e/
2006-09-29 10:42:30 · answer #1 · answered by C_Bar 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
George Orwell is a personal fave, and I think most Brits would tend to agree. Concise, witty, relevant and a master of the language.
Think that David Foster Wallace is giving all these old codgers a run for their money though - he recently published a collection of essays called "Consider the Lobster" that showcases his talents. Take a look if you haven't already.
2006-09-29 14:51:54 · answer #2 · answered by hosmer_angel 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson's Essays was the first adult reading I ever did, at the age of 8 or 9.
2006-09-29 10:25:41 · answer #3 · answered by auntb93again 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Michel de Montaigne - and for a contemporary, try Umberto Eco!
2006-09-29 12:11:22 · answer #4 · answered by juexue 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1.) Frederick Douglass
2.) James Baldwin
3.) Nathiel Hawthorne
These are my top 3
2006-09-29 10:22:54 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably Jonathan Swift.
2006-09-29 10:19:15 · answer #6 · answered by happyjumpyfrog 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oscar Wilde!!!
2006-09-29 10:45:28 · answer #7 · answered by Sirius Black 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My vote is for George Orwell.
2006-09-29 22:13:27 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
E.B. White is great, but so is Emerson.
2006-09-29 10:55:39 · answer #9 · answered by Paley Pale 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋