Prejudices, First Series (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Satirical Essays on American Culture, Politics, and Modern Literary CriticismBy H. L. Mencken
Length7h 23m
About this audiobook
Prejudices, First Series gathers H. L. Mencken's sharply polemical essays on literature, culture, politics, and the American temper, displaying the mordant wit that made him one of the early twentieth century's most formidable critics. Written in a brisk, aphoristic, and combative prose, the volume attacks genteel pieties, provincial moralism, and critical complacency, while situating modern American letters against European standards and the emerging modernist revolt. Mencken, the Baltimore journalist, editor, and essayist, wrote from a lifelong suspicion of orthodoxy and mass opinion. His work at The Smart Set and later The American Mercury placed him at the center of debates over realism, free expression, and cultural authority. His German-American background, journalistic discipline, and admiration for Nietzschean skepticism all inform the book's impatience with sentimentality and democratic cant. This volume is recommended for readers interested in American literary criticism at its most provocative and stylistically vigorous. Though some judgments are deliberately abrasive and historically dated, Prejudices, First Series remains indispensable for understanding Mencken's influence on modern criticism, his defense of intellectual independence, and his enduring talent for making dissent rhetorically exhilarating.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
Audiobook details
GenreLiterary Classics
Length7 hrs 23 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 20, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
226 A Broadway Brandes
2Introduction
23XII. THE GENEALOGY OF ETIQUETTE
3Author Biography
24XIII. THE AMERICAN MAGAZINE
4Historical Context
25XIV. THE ULSTER POLONIUS
5Synopsis (Selection)
26XV. AN UNHEEDED LAW-GIVER
Show all chaptersShow less
6I. CRITICISM OF CRITICISM OF CRITICISM
27XVI. THE BLUSHFUL MYSTERY
7II. THE LATE MR. WELLS
281 Sex Hygiene
8III. ARNOLD BENNETT
292 Art and Sex
9IV. THE DEAN
303 A Loss to Romance
10V. PROFESSOR VEBLEN
314 Sex on the Stage
11VI. THE NEW POETRY MOVEMENT
32XVII. GEORGE JEAN NATHAN
12VII. THE HEIR OF MARK TWAIN
33XVIII. PORTRAIT OF AN IMMORTAL SOUL
13VIII. HERMANN SUDERMANN
34XIX. JACK LONDON
14IX. GEORGE ADE
35XX. AMONG THE AVATARS
15X. THE BUTTE BASHKIRTSEFF
36XXI. THREE AMERICAN IMMORTALS
16XI. SIX MEMBERS OF THE INSTITUTE
371 Aristotelean Obsequies
171 The Boudoir Balzac
382 Edgar Allan Poe
182 A Stranger on Parnassus
393 Memorial Service
193 A Merchant of Mush
40Analysis
204 The Last of the Victorians
41Reflection
215 A Bad Novelist
42Memorable Quotes
Notes on Democracy (Annotated)H. L. Mencken6h 9m$2 · $0.00
The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (Annotated)H. L. Mencken10h 21m$2 · $0.00
A Book of Prefaces (Annotated)H. L. Mencken7h 52m$2 · $0.00
Damn! A Book of CalumnyH. L. Mencken1h 9m$1 · $0.00
In Defense of WomenH. L. Mencken5h 52m$2 · $0.00
The American LanguageH. L. Mencken10h 52m$2 · $0.00
Prejudices, fifth seriesH. L. Mencken7h 16m$1 · $0.00
Prejudices: EssaysH. L. Mencken7h 15m$2 · $0.00
The American Credo (Annotated)H. L. Mencken, George Jean Nathan4h 27m$2 · $0.00
The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (Summarized Edition)H. L. Mencken5h 3m$2
Notes on Democracy (Summarized Edition)H. L. Mencken2h 20m$2
Notes on DemocracyH. L. Mencken5h 52m$2 · $0.00
In Defense of WomenH. L. Mencken4h 36m$2 · $0.00
In Defense of WomenH. L. Mencken5h 58m$1 · $0.00
The American Language (Annotated)H. L. Mencken18h 39m$0.99 · $0.00
H. L. Mencken - Premium CollectionH. L. Mencken, George Jean Nathan51h 5m$2 · $0.00
The American Language: Development of English in the United StatesH. L. Mencken18h 31m$2 · $0.00
In Defense of Women (Annotated)H. L. Mencken6h 17m$0.99 · $0.00
A Book of PrefacesH. L. Mencken7h 33m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Novels, Short Stories and Autobiographical WritingsFyodor Dostoyevsky270h 59m$2 · $0.00
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Annotated)Howard Irving Chapelle, Tappan Adney13h 9m$0.99 · $0.00
Charles Dickens: Complete Works (Annotated)Charles Dickens818h 55m$0.99 · $0.00
The Complete Novels of Jane Austen & Brontë Sisters (Annotated)Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë204h 15m$0.99 · $0.00
The Complete Works: Charlotte, Emily, Anne, Patrick & Branwell BrontëCharlotte Brontë, Anne Brontë, Emily Brontë138h 12m$1 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde (Annotated)Oscar Wilde126h 19m$2 · $0.00
L. M. Montgomery – Premium Collection: Novels, Short Stories, Poetry & MemoirsLucy Maud Montgomery155h 1m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of the Brontë Family Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë140h 13m$2 · $0.00
MARK TWAIN: 12 Novels, 195 Short Stories, Autobiography, 10 Travel Books, 160+ Essays & Speeches (Illustrated)Mark Twain415h 9m5.0 (2)$2 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m$18 · $0.00
The Complete Works: Novels, Short Stories, Plays, Articles, Essays, Travel Sketches and Memoirs (Annotated)Anthony Trollope1096h 4m$0.99 · $0.00
Ivanhoe (Annotated)Walter Scott22h 52m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of G. K. Chesterton (Annotated)G. K. Chesterton421h 37m$1.99 · $0.00
All NovelsGeorge Orwell53h 48m$10 · $0.00
The Complete Works of TolstoyLeo Tolstoy412h 44m$1 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Louisa May Alcott (Annotated)Louisa May Alcott226h 24m$0.99 · $0.00
Sherlock Holmes series - completeArthur Conan54h 8m$3.50 · $0.00
The Fire Next TimeJames Baldwin2h 25m$15
The Count of Monte Cristo (With Original Illustrations)Alexandre Dumas54h$1 · $0.00
You may also like
H. L. Mencken - Premium CollectionH. L. Mencken, George Jean Nathan51h 5m$2 · $0.00
How to Be Successful without Hurting Men's FeelingsSarah Cooper1h 39m$15
Pen Portraits and ReviewsBernard Shaw12h 16m$2 · $0.00
A Room of One's Own + Three Guineas (2 extended essays) (Annotated)Virginia Woolf13h 15m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Speeches of Mark Twain (Annotated)Mark Twain8h 29m$2 · $0.00
The Dilbert PrincipleScott Adams1h 11m$13 · $0.00
H. L. Mencken - Premium Collection (Annotated)George Jean Nathan, H. L. Mencken50h 57m$2 · $0.00
The Right to Be Lazy, and Other Studies (Annotated)Paul Lafargue4h 27m$0.99 · $0.00
The American Language: Development of English in the United StatesH. L. Mencken18h 31m$2 · $0.00
Lincoln in CaricatureRufus Rockwell Wilson48m$2 · $0.00
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS Premium Collection: 30+ Titles in One Volume: The Theory of Business Enterprise, The Higher Learning in America, The Vested Interests and the Common Man, On the Nature of Capital… (Annotated)Thorstein Veblen93h 27m$2 · $0.00
Prejudices: EssaysH. L. Mencken7h 15m$2 · $0.00
The Collected Plays of George Bernard Shaw (Illustrated) (Annotated)George Bernard Shaw129h 50m$0.99 · $0.00
That’s Not Funny, That’s SickEllin Stein15h 22m$23
Comic History of EnglandBill Nye3h 45m$2 · $0.00
A Satire AnthologyCarolyn Wells9h 37m$2.30
Somebody's Gotta Say ItNeal Boortz6h 1m$24 · $0.00
Dickens by Chesterton (Annotated)G. K. Chesterton16h 53m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Essays and Satires of Mark Twain (Annotated)Mark Twain23h 20m$2 · $0.00
When to Rob a BankSteven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner8h 14m$26 · $0.00