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With Charity Toward None: A Fond Look at Misanthropy
Stitch for stitch, no American writer working today can match the witty scalpelwork of Florence King. She has been compared to Dorothy Parker, H.L. Mencken, even Will Rogers—though Rogers, of course, never met a man he didn't like. Florence King spots them on every corner. Proudly, now, this unreconstructed people-hater makes her stand: Simply put, the lady is a misanthrope.
With Charity Toward None is a pièce de résistance from the Queen of Spleen: a guided tour of delights of the misanthropic life. With America's denatured society as a backdrop, King offers an inspirational handbook for Americans grown tired of unreconstructed people-hater offers her piece de resistance a "goo-goo humanitarianism and sensitivity that never sleeps." Her pantheon of kindred spirits—from Timon of Athens to Ty Cobb, from Ayn Rand to Richard Nixon—is a lesson in historical misanthropy; along the way she skewers Oprah guests, "lovable pseudocurmudgeons," and other pretenders to the throne, all on the tip of her poison-dipped pen. An irresistible jolt of venom in a world where "hostile situations barely get started before somebody pops up and announces, 'the healing has begun,'" With Charity Toward None is a manifesto for Florence King's crusade "win one for the Sonofabitch."
With Charity Toward None is a pièce de résistance from the Queen of Spleen: a guided tour of delights of the misanthropic life. With America's denatured society as a backdrop, King offers an inspirational handbook for Americans grown tired of unreconstructed people-hater offers her piece de resistance a "goo-goo humanitarianism and sensitivity that never sleeps." Her pantheon of kindred spirits—from Timon of Athens to Ty Cobb, from Ayn Rand to Richard Nixon—is a lesson in historical misanthropy; along the way she skewers Oprah guests, "lovable pseudocurmudgeons," and other pretenders to the throne, all on the tip of her poison-dipped pen. An irresistible jolt of venom in a world where "hostile situations barely get started before somebody pops up and announces, 'the healing has begun,'" With Charity Toward None is a manifesto for Florence King's crusade "win one for the Sonofabitch."
208 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1992
12 people are currently reading
401 people want to read
About the author
Florence King
20 books61 followersBorn in Washington, D.C. in 1936 to a bookish British father and a tomboy American mother, Florence King spent her childhood living with her parents, her maternal grandmother, and her grandmother's maid.
King showed talent in French, but unable to pursue it as a major at American University, she switched to a dual major of history and English. She attended the University of Mississippi for graduate school, but did not complete her M.A. degree after discovering she could make a living as a writer.
King, who lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia at the time of her death, retired in 2002, but resumed writing a monthly column for National Review in 2006. She died on January 6, 2016 at the age of 80.
King showed talent in French, but unable to pursue it as a major at American University, she switched to a dual major of history and English. She attended the University of Mississippi for graduate school, but did not complete her M.A. degree after discovering she could make a living as a writer.
King, who lived in Fredericksburg, Virginia at the time of her death, retired in 2002, but resumed writing a monthly column for National Review in 2006. She died on January 6, 2016 at the age of 80.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 20, 2008
Florence King is funny and mean. I like her. She doesn't like me.
I've been reading Florence during an election year and alongside a few articles on the death of conservatism. She has written a column for years for the National Review and has described herself as a "bisexual, conservative, feminist." She's smart. And mean.
I don't know where to go with this review, so I'll just say that the world was better when Florence King was more widely read and the Republicans were the party of "leave me alone." I'm not sure we have a "leave me alone" party anymore. It's an awful concept to rally around. Who would go to the convention? But it is a necessary concept.
Not that I'm anybody to say anything. After all, I'm writing this review in the public sphere. Now go away.
I've been reading Florence during an election year and alongside a few articles on the death of conservatism. She has written a column for years for the National Review and has described herself as a "bisexual, conservative, feminist." She's smart. And mean.
I don't know where to go with this review, so I'll just say that the world was better when Florence King was more widely read and the Republicans were the party of "leave me alone." I'm not sure we have a "leave me alone" party anymore. It's an awful concept to rally around. Who would go to the convention? But it is a necessary concept.
Not that I'm anybody to say anything. After all, I'm writing this review in the public sphere. Now go away.
May 22, 2014
Hilarious and morbid comic relief. Quite good as a reference point to remember that loving others really is just one the many choices we have.
September 22, 2017
Although it contains some brilliant passages when King is delivering her own ideas/jokes, and useful distinctions such as the one between "the misanthrope of the naked intellect" and "the tender misanthrope", I found the book too human-centered for a self-proclaimed misanthrope. I mean, of course you have to consider the object of your hate when you're writing about it, but the text too often gets tangled up in historical and biographical details (of a real person or a fictional character) that don't add much to the subject at hand; names of people and places and events and ... – something you might call "the human narrative". It gets so concentrated that it looks like she just loves to write about people.
A related problem is that the content (chosen examples of people, events, etc.) is too American. Combined with the first problem I mentioned, the book gets completely uninteresting or even incomprehensible on many pages, if you're not someone who's familiar with all those very specific names and events from American culture. King definitely hasn't envisioned an international audience.
Overall, it feels like King is in fact ambivalent about people (like her "tender misanthropes") because she is insanely curious about those things she proudly hates. At least, one can easily say that she's not the kind of misanthrope who detests and calmly ignores the human world. Even if she successfully hides it in her style, hers is a more passionate hate, like someone who hates her ex-lover, and keeps stalking. This is my only explanation for her extensive use of literature in her text – she loves to read about people too – which is another feature of the book that makes it hard to read for me. As an ignoring type of misanthrope, I don't read fiction because I am bored and often overwhelmed by the human narrative, that kind of fictional information about fictional human beings, that most humane of the arts...
To echo her snap definitions of a real misanthrope in the book, I daresay: A real misanthrope doesn't like literature, and Florence King isn't one.
A related problem is that the content (chosen examples of people, events, etc.) is too American. Combined with the first problem I mentioned, the book gets completely uninteresting or even incomprehensible on many pages, if you're not someone who's familiar with all those very specific names and events from American culture. King definitely hasn't envisioned an international audience.
Overall, it feels like King is in fact ambivalent about people (like her "tender misanthropes") because she is insanely curious about those things she proudly hates. At least, one can easily say that she's not the kind of misanthrope who detests and calmly ignores the human world. Even if she successfully hides it in her style, hers is a more passionate hate, like someone who hates her ex-lover, and keeps stalking. This is my only explanation for her extensive use of literature in her text – she loves to read about people too – which is another feature of the book that makes it hard to read for me. As an ignoring type of misanthrope, I don't read fiction because I am bored and often overwhelmed by the human narrative, that kind of fictional information about fictional human beings, that most humane of the arts...
To echo her snap definitions of a real misanthrope in the book, I daresay: A real misanthrope doesn't like literature, and Florence King isn't one.
April 17, 2008
Chicken Soup for the Misanthropic Soul.
October 27, 2008
I give this three stars because I like Florence King. She is hilarious and mean. She probably would not like me. I wanted this book to be more interesting. It had a lot of potential to be engaging and keep me riveted but most of it seemed to be about people she didn't really consider to be misanthropes. WELL FUCK THEM, I WANNA HEAR ABOUT WHO IS. My fascinations with Rousseau, Rand, and Bierce are increased after reading this and I'm going to check out more of King's work.
October 18, 2014
I've probably read this book more than any other book on my list...and I don't even own it! It's not the deepest book you'll read, but it's a fun, entertaining collection of people who hate people.
July 3, 2008
Misanthropy is underrated. But who cares what they think anyway? King is brilliant.
November 11, 2017
I think Florence King is one of those writers that you either loathe or love. The book is a short tour about people that the author considers as misanthropes instead of eccentric or plainly "mean people" like Nixon and Dian Fossey among others.
Funny and full of very relatable quotes/ideas "Misanthropes have some admirable if paradoxical virtues. It is no exaggeration to say that we are among the nicest people you are likely to meet. Because good manners build sturdy walls, our distaste for intimacy makes us exceedingly cordial...As long as you remain a stranger we will be your friend forever. We are law abiding people not because we are plaster saints but because criminals must deal with people...as for child molestation, in order to molest a child you must first be in the same room with the child, and I don't know how perverts stand it."
The title I believe, was taken from one of Lincoln's speeches: "With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right..."
Funny and full of very relatable quotes/ideas "Misanthropes have some admirable if paradoxical virtues. It is no exaggeration to say that we are among the nicest people you are likely to meet. Because good manners build sturdy walls, our distaste for intimacy makes us exceedingly cordial...As long as you remain a stranger we will be your friend forever. We are law abiding people not because we are plaster saints but because criminals must deal with people...as for child molestation, in order to molest a child you must first be in the same room with the child, and I don't know how perverts stand it."
The title I believe, was taken from one of Lincoln's speeches: "With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right..."
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July 8, 2017"The misanthrope must either be cold to begin with, or he must turn cold when he finally acknowledges what he has known all along: Sex requires people. There is no greater contradiction than a misanthrope in bed. If he persists in staying there, the primal contradiction will spread like a cancer to his higher brain cells, until nothing he says or thinks will make any sense.
Consistency, thou art a jewel. As with Catholicism, so with misanthropy, the jewel in the crown is celibacy"
Mostly funny and witty. Yet my political and philosophical sensibilités are quite opposed to the writer's (maybe within the confines of "tender misanthrophy" as she prefers to call!). Also it's culturally very country-specific, as for my knowledge of the US. Therefore, I won't rate the book. But I recommend it, especially to misanthropes of all shades, if you wish to know more about the lives and works of famous misanthropes, real or fictional figures -like Rousseau, Swift, Flaubert, Timon, Alceste, A. France, Celine, A. Bierce, M. Twain, etc.
And don't forget: "Always depend upon the kindness of misanthropes"!
Consistency, thou art a jewel. As with Catholicism, so with misanthropy, the jewel in the crown is celibacy"
Mostly funny and witty. Yet my political and philosophical sensibilités are quite opposed to the writer's (maybe within the confines of "tender misanthrophy" as she prefers to call!). Also it's culturally very country-specific, as for my knowledge of the US. Therefore, I won't rate the book. But I recommend it, especially to misanthropes of all shades, if you wish to know more about the lives and works of famous misanthropes, real or fictional figures -like Rousseau, Swift, Flaubert, Timon, Alceste, A. France, Celine, A. Bierce, M. Twain, etc.
And don't forget: "Always depend upon the kindness of misanthropes"!
June 5, 2012
Florence is quite proud of the fact that she doesn't see what's wrong with the misanthropes of the world. She finds them perfectly rational and sensible. People annoy her--no, people never fail to live down to her expectations. She has, in this volume, combed literature and history for her compatriots, including Ambrose Bierce, Gustave Flaubert, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
She's funny, all-too-right about people wearing rose-colored glasses, and painful when she exposes one's own self in her scathing commentary.
On the other hand, she gives credit when due: her acknowledgments include a substantial list of people from her local "lah-berry," which she compares (favorably) to a "neighborhood speakeasy."
She's funny, all-too-right about people wearing rose-colored glasses, and painful when she exposes one's own self in her scathing commentary.
On the other hand, she gives credit when due: her acknowledgments include a substantial list of people from her local "lah-berry," which she compares (favorably) to a "neighborhood speakeasy."
July 17, 2013
I hate to give this four stars, but I feel for the author. I understand and embrace her misanthropy, but some of her tangents are distracting and obnoxious. She spends several chapters defending Nixon and even has a few valid points on the matter, but she defends him as if he is a god.
Further, as an avowed bisexual, she remains a dedicated Republican with no concern for gay rights.
In short: buy it used, don't give the crazy woman a penny.
Further, as an avowed bisexual, she remains a dedicated Republican with no concern for gay rights.
In short: buy it used, don't give the crazy woman a penny.
July 25, 2008
“All that I have accomplished is the result of being alone.”-- Franz Kafka.
How can you hate people? Who else is there to hate?
Brilliant poison tipped prose. All the misanthropes discussed in this book portend or illuminate some contemporary American problem.
How can you hate people? Who else is there to hate?
Brilliant poison tipped prose. All the misanthropes discussed in this book portend or illuminate some contemporary American problem.
March 20, 2012
I guess I wasn't that surprised that I am endowed with many of traits which Ms. King asserts are inherent to misanthropes through the ages. I was also pleased to be introduced to Fisher Ames, the forgotten Founding Father. Overall, a witty and enjoyable read.
January 17, 2008
Razor sharp prose and a genuinely interesting subject. Reading about misanthropes is fun in and of itself, but reading about them from one of our best ones is a treat.
September 30, 2009
Meh. Only read about 20 pages. Too self-congratulatory and boring.
February 26, 2010
I am not a misanthrope. This was not the right book for me. I do think Florence King is funny though.
May 26, 2015
This is Miss King's finest work and that's saying something.
February 24, 2012
One of the sharpest, wittiest pieces of nonfiction I've ever read. Hilarious.
August 19, 2016
The book was laugh out loud funny at times, and dreadfully boring at others. It's an interesting topic, but not the best book. King is way too haughty; I just want to tell her to get over herself.
February 16, 2013
One word review: brilliant.
October 15, 2014
Regina said this lady is funny but her politics are awful and I can confirm that this is the case.
April 5, 2023
I enjoyed this book, as I felt a connection with the author and so many of those she wrote about. I read it whilst working in the Civil Service, surrounded by people who would put anyone off humanity. I can relate to alot of it, though my own personal misanthropy isn't towards all people and my own empathy levels are very high, especially towards other living creatures.
She is sharp, witty and her prose rings with the sound of a million liberal ideals being smashed to pieces with her barbed prose. I adored the book and she sounded like quite a character.
She is sharp, witty and her prose rings with the sound of a million liberal ideals being smashed to pieces with her barbed prose. I adored the book and she sounded like quite a character.
May 17, 2020
I decided to binge on humor and found as many of this brilliant lady's books as I could. I always looked forward to her pieces in Saturday Review, and larger doses of her style and wit are just what is needed during this time of 19.
April 28, 2020
Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady gave me too-high hopes for Florence King.
May 22, 2020
I've never been more at peace with being a hateful bastard. Thanks and God speed, Ms. King.
March 7, 2021
An ideal companion to The Portable Curmudgeon, a must read for anyone who loathes company.
May 2, 2018
In this volume, one of the most hated women in contemporary literature holds forth without restraint. Why, she complained to a reviewer about a FAVORABLE treatment, just because he missed the whole point of the book.
Here we have a collection of essays on the great misanthropes of the world... (And not the cuddly "misanthropes" like W.C. Fields.) Evisceration of life in the Republic of Nice! Nixon as Alceste!
And there is her definition of tender misanthropes as "an idealist with a short fuse". I can relate to that. But will she now complain about THIS review?
I am disappointed that her collection does not include Baron Corvo. ("Do you love your neighbor?" "No, frankly, I detest him and her.")
Here we have a collection of essays on the great misanthropes of the world... (And not the cuddly "misanthropes" like W.C. Fields.) Evisceration of life in the Republic of Nice! Nixon as Alceste!
And there is her definition of tender misanthropes as "an idealist with a short fuse". I can relate to that. But will she now complain about THIS review?
I am disappointed that her collection does not include Baron Corvo. ("Do you love your neighbor?" "No, frankly, I detest him and her.")
February 28, 2025
Florence King is funny and mean. I like her. She doesn't like me.
I've been reading Florence during an election year and alongside a few articles on the death of conservatism. She has written a column for years for the National Review and has described herself as a "bisexual, conservative, feminist." She's smart. And mean.
I don't know where to go with this review, so I'll just say that the world was better when Florence King was more widely read and the Republicans were the party of "leave me alone." I'm not sure we have a "leave me alone" party anymore. It's an awful concept to rally around. Who would go to the convention? But it is a necessary concept.
Not that I'm anybody to say anything. After all, I'm writing this review in the public sphere. Now go away.
Even more relevant in 2025
I've been reading Florence during an election year and alongside a few articles on the death of conservatism. She has written a column for years for the National Review and has described herself as a "bisexual, conservative, feminist." She's smart. And mean.
I don't know where to go with this review, so I'll just say that the world was better when Florence King was more widely read and the Republicans were the party of "leave me alone." I'm not sure we have a "leave me alone" party anymore. It's an awful concept to rally around. Who would go to the convention? But it is a necessary concept.
Not that I'm anybody to say anything. After all, I'm writing this review in the public sphere. Now go away.
Even more relevant in 2025
July 23, 2014
HATED IT!
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March 21, 2016...misantropía .
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews