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The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 12 (of 12)
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About this book
The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 12, gathers the final set of essays that complete the English critic’s prolific output of the early nineteenth century. The volume opens with a meticulous editorial note that explains how many of the pieces have already appeared in earlier collections such as Literary Remains and Sketches and Essays, while the majority are being printed for the first time. The editors detail the provenance of each essay, citing the magazines in which they first appeared, The New Monthly Magazine, The Liberal, The London Weekly Review, and The Atlas, and they outline the scholarly criteria used to confirm Hazlitt’s authorship. After this scholarly preface the reader is presented with a varied contents list, ranging from lively sketches of public fights to reflective pieces on morality, education, and the nature of wit, all organized by their original publication venue.
Hazlitt’s voice is unmistakably that of a vigorous, conversational essayist, steeped in the rhetorical vigor of the Romantic era. His prose combines sharp observation with a playful, often self‑referential style, moving fluidly between anecdote, moral speculation, and incisive cultural commentary. Readers who appreciate the energetic, sometimes digressive tone of early‑nineteenth‑century periodicals, particularly those interested in the intellectual climate of London’s literary salons, the politics of the press, and the moral debates of the age, will find this volume rewarding. It also appeals to scholars tracing the development of Hazlitt’s thought, as the collection showcases the breadth of his subjects and the evolution of his argumentative technique across a decade of writing.
Who appears in The collected works of William Hazlitt, Vol. 12 (of 12)
- William HazlittEarly‑19th‑century English gentleman, dark hair, sideburns, moustache, frock coat, cravat, thoughtful expression
- Mr. IrelandMid‑19th‑century scholar, spectacles, trimmed beard, waistcoat over shirt, modest tie, scholarly demeanor
- Leigh HuntRomantic‑era poet, wavy hair, slight beard, velvet waistcoat, high‑collared shirt, lively eyes
The opening · free to read
Reference may here be made to a few essays which, though they may have been written by Hazlitt, have been excluded from the present volume, because the evidence of their authorship was not sufficiently strong. They are arranged in the following list under the heading of the Magazine in which they first appeared.
I. In The New Monthly Magazine.
1. Four papers entitled ‘The Confessional’ (1822, vol. IV. pp. 349, 450; vol. v. pp. 54, 406) which read very much as if they were written by Hazlitt during the Liber Amoris period.
2. An essay entitled ‘Social Grievances’ (1822, vol. v. p. 412).
3. An essay on ‘The Influence of Books on the Progress of Manners’ (May, 1828, vol. xxii. p. 409).
II. In The Liberal.
1. In The Liberal (vol. 11. 1823) appeared an essay entitled ‘A Sunday’s Fête at St. Cloud’ which was reprinted (without mention being made of its source) under the title ‘A Fête at St. Cloud’ and attributed to Hazlitt in a volume of miscellanies called ‘The Talisman; or Bouquet of Literature and the Fine Arts’ (1831), edited by Mrs. Alaric A. Watts. The essay shows no trace of Hazlitt’s handiwork, and seems to have been written ‘under a foreign sky,’ whereas Hazlitt did not start for his tour in France and Italy till after the publication of the essay in The Liberal. An editorial paragraph published in The London Magazine for October 1824, under the heading of ‘The Lion’s Head,’ would seem to show that the writer of the sketch had sent it to that magazine for publication. ‘_The Fête of St. Cloud_’ (the paragraph runs), ‘though not unamusing, would not suit our pages. French subjects, as all Editors and Kings can testify, are lively and dangerous. They are very irregular, or very poor.’ The editor of The London Magazine, though he had at the time a grievance against Hazlitt (see Vol. XI. note to essay on ‘Peveril of the Peak’), would hardly have spoken so patronisingly of one of his most distinguished contributors.
III. In The London Weekly Review.
1. An essay entitled ‘Brummelliana’ (Feb. 2, 1828).
IV. In The Atlas.
1. ‘Manners make the man’ (March 29, 1829).
2. ‘Mr. Jeffrey’s Resignation of the Editorship of the Edinburgh Review’ (June 21, 1829).
3. ‘Autographs’ (June 28, 1829).
4. ‘A Hint upon Education’ (Aug. 9, 1829).
5. ‘A Newspaper Sketch’ (Oct. 18, 1829).
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