Curiosities of Literature (Vol. 1-3) (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Complete EditionBy Isaac Disraeli
Length72h 42m
About this audiobook
Curiosities of Literature (Vol. 1–3) is a capacious treasury of literary anecdote, intellectual history, and bibliographical reflection, ranging from neglected authors and eccentric scholars to the habits, misfortunes, quarrels, and triumphs of the republic of letters. Written in an elegant, digressive essay style, it belongs to the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century culture of learned miscellany, where erudition is made sociable and archival oddity becomes a means of understanding literary civilization. Isaac Disraeli, an English man of letters born into a Sephardic Jewish family, devoted his life to reading, collecting, and interpreting books. Father of the statesman Benjamin Disraeli, he was himself a serious literary historian whose private scholarship and love of libraries shaped his vision of authorship. His sensitivity to exclusion, reputation, and the precarious lives of writers informs the humane curiosity that animates these volumes. This work is warmly recommended to readers interested in the hidden life of literature: its forgotten controversies, marginal figures, and revealing peculiarities. Scholars, bibliophiles, and general readers alike will find in Disraeli a guide who transforms learned fragments into enduring cultural insight.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.0 (479)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon, StoryGraph
GenreLiterary Classics
Length72 hrs 42 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJan 28, 2021
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
26EARLY PRINTING.
2Introduction
27ERRATA.
3Historical Context
28PATRONS.
4Synopsis (Selection)
29POETS, PHILOSOPHERS, AND ARTISTS, MADE BY ACCIDENT.
5VOLUME 1
30INEQUALITIES OF GENIUS.
Show all chaptersShow less
6ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF MR. DISRAELI.
31GEOGRAPHICAL STYLE.
7PREFACE.
32LEGENDS.
8LIBRARIES.
33THE PORT-ROYAL SOCIETY.
9THE BIBLIOMANIA.
34THE PROGRESS OF OLD AGE IN NEW STUDIES.
10LITERARY JOURNALS.
35SPANISH POETRY.
11RECOVERY OF MANUSCRIPTS.
36SAINT EVREMOND.
12SKETCHES OF CRITICISM.
37MEN OF GENIUS DEFICIENT IN CONVERSATION.
13THE PERSECUTED LEARNED.
38VIDA.
14POVERTY OF THE LEARNED.
39THE SCUDERIES.
15IMPRISONMENT OF THE LEARNED.
40DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULT.
16AMUSEMENTS OF THE LEARNED.
41PRIOR'S HANS CARVEL.
17PORTRAITS OF AUTHORS.
42THE STUDENT IN THE METROPOLIS.
18DESTRUCTION OF BOOKS.
43THE TALMUD.
19SOME NOTICES OF LOST WORKS.
44RABBINICAL STORIES.
20QUODLIBETS, OR SCHOLASTIC DISQUISITIONS.
45ON THE CUSTOM OF SALUTING AFTER SNEEZING.
21FAME CONTEMNED.
46BONAVENTURE DE PERIERS.
22THE SIX FOLLIES OF SCIENCE.
47GROTIUS.
23IMITATORS.
48NOBLEMEN TURNED CRITICS.
24CICERO'S PUNS.
49LITERARY IMPOSTURES.
25PREFACES.
50CARDINAL RICHELIEU.
More from Isaac Disraeli
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
These Precious DaysAnn Patchett11h 14m4.5 (45.2K)$29 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 40m4.6 (1.3K)$1 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 54m4.5 (10.6K)$2 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Crime and Punishment (The Unabridged Garnett Translation) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoevsky24h 25m4.5 (15.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
The North American IndianEdward S. Curtis, Frederick Webb Hodge6h4.5 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Uncensored 13 Chapter Version + The Revised 20 Chapter Version (Annotated)Oscar Wilde16h 12m4.5 (2.8K)$1.99 · $0.00
Grimoire Of The Everyday WitchIsadora Lys / Virginia Santos5h 35m4.5 (3.9K)$9 · $0.00
Winnie-the-PoohAlan Alexander Milne2h 52m4.5 (401.1K)$3 · $0.00
Sitting PrettyRebekah Taussig7h 33m4.5 (18.9K)$26 · $0.00
The Poetic Edda & The Prose EddaSnorri Sturluson, Saemund Sigfusson9h 34m4.5 (4K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Satires & Essays of Mark Twain (Annotated)Mark Twain23h 21m4.5 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
Rilla of InglesideLucy Maud Montgomery10h 58m4.5 (46.7K)$1 · $0.00
The Posthumous Memoirs Of Brás CubasMachado De Assis7h 39m4.4 (120.4K)$5 · $0.00
The Iliad & The OdysseyHomer25h 12m4.4 (39K)$12 · $0.00
The Ladies' Paradise (Vizetelly Translation, Unabridged) (Annotated)Émile Zola19h 34m4.5 (1.2K)$2 · $0.00
You may also like
MemoriesF. Max Müller3h 17m4.0 (1.2K)$1 · $0.00
Hollywood: The Oral HistoryJeanine Basinger, Sam Wasson28h 50m4.2 (1.5K)$53 · $0.00
Paris, ParisDavid Downie9h 55m3.9 (1.7K)$20 · $0.00
Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and ArchitectsGiorgio Vasari97h 32m4.3 (14.5K)$2 · $0.00
An Area of DarknessV. S. Naipaul10h 1m3.9 (7.3K)$20 · $0.00
The Symbolism of FreemasonryAlbert Mackey12h 33m4.2 (751)$1 · $0.00
The Art of the BookVarious3h 23m3.6 (95)$2 · $0.00
A History of Architecture in all Countries, Volumes 1 and 2James Fergusson52h 5m$2 · $0.00
Outlines of English and American LiteratureWilliam J. Long21h 16m$1 · $0.00
The Progress of EthnologyJohn Russell Bartlett6h 6m$2 · $0.00
The Trail of the Swinging LanternsMorison Copeland6h 15m$2.30
A Middle English Vocabulary, Designed for use with Sisam's Fourteenth Century Verse & Prose (Annotated)J. R. R. Tolkien11h 54m4.1 (52)$2 · $0.00
English Cathedrals IllustratedFrancis Bond10h 25m$2 · $0.00
C. S. LewisJohn Lawlor4h 40m3.7 (83)$12 · $0.00
Lectures on Bible RevisionSamuel Newth7h 37m$2 · $0.00
Neither Dorking nor the AbbeyJ. M. Barrie1h 19m$2 · $0.00
The Old Road (Summarized Edition)Hilaire Belloc2h 26m$2
Historical Records of Port Phillip.John J. Shillinglaw.6h 16m$2 · $0.00
The History of Painting in Italy (Annotated)Luigi Lanzi56h 15m$1.99 · $0.00
The Gourmet's Guide to LondonLieut.-Col. Newnham-Davis11h 16m3.9 (16)$1 · $0.00