I enjoyed these essays, though I needed a quiet place to read them in. I would have had more enjoyment out of them if I had known more of the people and events he was commenting on. Many times it would seem as though he was rambling on and suddenly he would let loose with a zinger of a thought. One which required either throwing back your head with laughter or putting the book aside and thinking about it. Some of the essays were very personalized and only meaningful for their description of the times, such as those about solicitors and actors. Others were universal, such as those about books, food and personalities. ( )

Lamb is the most delightful of essayists. While he strove daily to keep his world and his sister's from flying to pieces, he wrote some of the wisest and perceptive essays, lively and enfused with a gentle understanding. The generosity of his spirit is extraordinary. These essays have very rightly been treasured as classics ( )

19th Century Blogging at its best. ( )

Charles Lamb, one of the most engaging personal essayists of all time, began publishing his Elia essays in the "London Magazine" in 1820; they were so immediately popular that a book-length collection was published in 1823. Inventing the persona of "Elia" allowed Lamb to be shockingly honest and to gain a playful distance for self-examination. The resulting essays touched upon a wide range of compelling subjects from the humorous "Dissertation upon Roast Pig" to the poignantly reflective "New Year's Eve". Yet collectively, they also comprise a fascinating personal memoir, veiled under the pseudonymous disguise of Elia.