About this book
De Libris: Prose and Verse by Austin Dobson invites bibliophiles into a charming late-Victorian salon, where essays and poems celebrate the pleasures, personalities, and small industries that make book culture sing.
This collection blends graceful prose and light verse—literary criticism, playful epistles, and elegiac pieces—rooted in the turn-of-the-century reverence for authors, printers, and illustrators. Dobson turns a learned, witty eye on figures from Thackeray and Fielding to Pepys and Milton, while exploring the craft of bookmaking, the art of illustration (with affectionate notice of Kate Greenaway and Hugh Thomson), and the social rituals of reading. Historical context and a fond nostalgia for 19th-century literary society inform pieces such as the Horatian ode on Don Quixote’s tercentenary and essays on Samuel Rogers and book collectors. The tone is urbane, affectionate, and observant—ideal for listeners who relish literary history delivered with warmth and subtle humor.
Perfect for lovers of essays and poetry, students of Victorian and Edwardian letters, and anyone who delights in bibliophilic reflection, this audiobook is a soothing, learned companion for long walks, study sessions, or quiet evenings with the printed—or spoken—word.
