Elia; and The Last Essays of Elia


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Elia and The Last Essays of Elia are two collections of essays written by Charles Lamb. The essays first began appearing in The London Magazine in 1820 and continued to 1825. They were very popular and were printed in many subsequent editions throughout the nineteenth century. The personal and conversational tone of the essays has charmed many readers.

Lamb himself is the Elia of the collection, and his sister Mary is "Cousin Bridget." Lamb took the name of Elia from an old Italian clerk at the South-Sea House in Lamb's time of employment there; that is, in 1791-1792. Many of these essays contain references to Lamb's contemporaries or events of his day, which may not strike as strong a chord in the heart of the contemporary listener.
- Summary by TriciaG (16 hr 14 min)

Chapters

The South-Sea House 22:45 Read by Adrian Stephens
Oxford in the Vacation 14:11 Read by KevinS
Christ's Hospital Five and Thirty Years Ago 37:44 Read by Adrian Stephens
The Two Races of Men 15:56 Read by Adrian Stephens
New Year's Eve 17:40 Read by Adrian Stephens
Mrs. Battle's Opinions on Whist 17:24 Read by Adrian Stephens
A Chapter on Ears 14:35 Read by Adrian Stephens
All Fools' Day 8:52 Read by Adrian Stephens
A Quaker's Meeting 13:54 Read by Sandra Cullum
The Old and the New Schoolmaster 24:55 Read by Sandra Cullum
Valentine's Day 9:31 Read by Sandra Cullum
Imperfect Sympathies 21:34 Read by Sandra Cullum
Witches, and other Night-Fears 18:45 Read by Sandra Cullum
My Relations 17:48 Read by Sandra Cullum
Mackery End, in Hertfordshire 12:59 Read by Sandra Cullum
Modern Gallantry 8:49 Read by Arden
The Old Benchers of the Inner Temple 30:15 Read by Adrian Stephens
Grace Before Meat 14:39 Read by Arden
My First Play 12:31 Read by Adrian Stephens
Dream-Children; A Reverie 8:54 Read by Arden
Distant Correspondents 13:01 Read by Arden
The Praise of Chimney-Sweepers 19:13 Read by Adrian Stephens
A Complaint of the Decay of Beggars in the Metropolis 20:48 Read by Adrian Stephens
A Dissertation upon Roast Pig 20:48 Read by Adrian Stephens
A Bachelor's Complaint of the Behaviour of Married People 20:38 Read by Adrian Stephens
On Some Old Actors 33:40 Read by Adrian Stephens
On the Artificial Comedy of the Last Century 22:17 Read by Adrian Stephens
On the Acting of Munden 6:26 Read by Alan Mapstone
Preface, by a Friend of the late Elia 7:27 Read by colson
Blakesmoor in H—shire 14:18 Read by Adrian Stephens
Poor Relations 18:39 Read by Adrian Stephens
Stage Illusion 7:33 Read by Arden
To the Shade of Elliston 8:10 Read by Alan Mapstone
Ellistoniana 14:43 Read by drwebber
Detached Thoughts on Books and Reading 14:14 Read by Arden
The Old Margate Hoy 22:11 Read by Adrian Stephens
The Convalescent 9:18 Read by Arden
Sanity of True Genius 8:38 Read by Yaelin Lee
Captain Jackson 11:28 Read by drwebber
The Superannuated Man 16:14 Read by Arden
The Genteel Style in Writing 13:53 Read by Micfairy252
Barbara S— 13:48 Read by Jennifer Henry
The Tombs in the Abbey 7:00 Read by weezer
Amicus Redivivus 12:46 Read by Adrian Stephens
Some Sonnets of Sir Philip Sydney 21:57 Read by Adrian Stephens
Newspapers Thirty-five Years Ago 17:16 Read by Arden
Barrenness of the Imaginative Faculty in the Productions of Modern Art 23:54 Read by Arden
Rejoicings upon the New Year's Coming of Age 12:11 Read by Arden
The Wedding 16:10 Read by Paul Harvey
The Child Angel: a Dream 8:29 Read by Paul Harvey
A Death-Bed 3:36 Read by RomaSingh
Old China 15:33 Read by drwebber
Popular Fallacies: Fallacies 1-9 22:59 Read by Adrian Stephens
Popular Fallacies: Fallaices 10-12 22:57 Read by Adrian Stephens
Popular Fallacies: Fallacies 13-16 28:26 Read by Adrian Stephens
On Some of the Old Actors (London Magazine, Feb., 1822) 32:33 Read by Adrian Stephens
The Old Actors (London Magazine, April, 1822) 31:54 Read by Matea Bracic
The Old Actors (London Magazine, October, 1822) 15:29 Read by Matea Bracic