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Life of Timothy Dexter; embracing sketches of the eccentric characters that composed his associates
This reproduction was printed from a digital file created at the Library of Congress as part of an extensive scanning effort started with a generous donation from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Library is pleased to offer much of its public domain holdings free of charge online and at a modest price in this printed format. Seeing these older volumes from our collections rediscovered by new generations of readers renews our own passion for books and scholarship.
124 pages, Paperback
First published February 22, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 10, 2017
I've been vaguely aware of Lord Timothy Dexter for some times as he once successfully sold coal to Newcastle and I lived there for so many years. The other day I was mucking about on the internet archive and found this. There are two editions. The 1838 is the Life only. The 1858 also reprints his autobiography, importantly, from the second edition, which is the one with the punctuation.
It's a most odd production from a most odd man. Largely unintelligible, with brief passages with meaning which soon sink into confusion. An interesting document and rather a good effort from someone with little education and psychological differences.
Knapp, the author of the Life, is small-minded, judgemental and writes with no empathy for his subject. He holds Dexter in contempt. I get the impression he's a bully. He was a lawyer and a politician and I am disinclined to believe anything he says. Certainly, you have to filter his opinion to find any facts. Despite the author and his subject living in the same town, this is not the kind of book you could use to reliably reference a wikipedia article… which is why having referenced it, the wikipedia article has a whopping great flag on it with multiple issues. Interestingly, Knapp's wikipedia page (which is unflagged) quotes the Dictionary of American Biography which describes him as “ornate, laudatory, and patriotic, and wholly untrustworthy.” Unfortunately, this book is probably as close as we will ever get to knowing something of a man whose interest is matched by his retired life.
It's a most odd production from a most odd man. Largely unintelligible, with brief passages with meaning which soon sink into confusion. An interesting document and rather a good effort from someone with little education and psychological differences.
Knapp, the author of the Life, is small-minded, judgemental and writes with no empathy for his subject. He holds Dexter in contempt. I get the impression he's a bully. He was a lawyer and a politician and I am disinclined to believe anything he says. Certainly, you have to filter his opinion to find any facts. Despite the author and his subject living in the same town, this is not the kind of book you could use to reliably reference a wikipedia article… which is why having referenced it, the wikipedia article has a whopping great flag on it with multiple issues. Interestingly, Knapp's wikipedia page (which is unflagged) quotes the Dictionary of American Biography which describes him as “ornate, laudatory, and patriotic, and wholly untrustworthy.” Unfortunately, this book is probably as close as we will ever get to knowing something of a man whose interest is matched by his retired life.
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June 27, 2021Fun to hear about him shooting at people and getting publicly spanked and making money in strange ways and his columns and arches. Author being a contemporary of the subject who doesn't like him is a good bit. Snarkiness funny it's so petty
September 6, 2020
Boring and petty, don’t waste your time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews