Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent: With a Biographical Notice

by Jonathan Oldstyle, Washington Irving

Leather Binding on Spine and Corners with Golden Leaf Printing on round Spine (extra customization on request like complete leather, Golden Screen printing in Front, Color Leather, Colored book etc.) Reprinted in 2018 with the help of original edition published long back [1941]. This book is printed in black & white, sewing binding for longer life, Printed on high quality Paper, re-sized as per Current standards, professionally processed without changing its contents. As these are old books, we processed each page manually and make them readable but in some cases some pages which are blur or missing or black spots. If it is multi volume set, then it is only single volume, if you wish to order a specific or all the volumes you may contact us. We expect that you will understand our compulsion in these books. We found this book important for the readers who want to know more about our old treasure so we brought it back to the shelves. Hope you will like it and give your comments and suggestions. - English, Pages 106. EXTRA 10 DAYS APART FROM THE NORMAL SHIPPING PERIOD WILL BE REQUIRED FOR LEATHER BOUND BOOKS. COMPLETE LEATHER WILL COST YOU EXTRA US$ 25 APART FROM THE LEATHER BOUND BOOKS. {FOLIO EDITION IS ALSO AVAILABLE.} Complete Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle by Washington Irving; reproduced in facsimile from the edition of 1824 with an introduction by Stanley T. Williams. 1941 Irving Washington -.

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1802

Reviews

[Delanie Dooms · Rating 4 out of 5]

Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gen. are a brief series of humorous letters written by Washington Irving when he was a teenager. They were published over a few months in The Morning Chronicle and Chronicle Express. Irving assumes the perspective of an older man discussing modern affairs mostly surrounding the theatre and fashionable life; this perspective is tinged with a prejudice for the old style of doing things, hence his name, I imagine. Like other works of this nature, Irving did not include it in his final summing-up of his collected works; interestingly, this one gets it's most common name from pirated copies rather than ones officially connected to Irving himself.

Out of all of them, my favorite is probably the last one, in which Irving seems to satirize the concept of dueling. He frames the topic through the perspective of the few characters that he has delineated through the letters--Andrew Quoz, Jack Styles, and, of course, Jonathan himself--with each giving their proper answer to the question. Oldstyle's peculiar obsession with decorum and chivalry have Irving writing a 'genteel' sword-duel and defense of such duelist who only shoot one time when using a gun (the more "peacable mind" of their second's "interpose after the first shot"). But we must not forget that his basis is in the past, and, with this, he must denounce the use of a pistol at all. Faithful to the character of Jack Styles, he proposes dueling become a public event, like gladiator battles of old--with Irving joking that, because many duels come about through peer pressure (not wanting to be called a coward, for example), the public should be there to judge of the affair, seeing as it is what incited it in the first place! Finally, ever-so-practical Quoz gives his opinion that, through clandestine means, the two dueling should determine a time at which one will drop a brick on the other's head to determine whether one dies or not.

I wouldn't consider these letters as anything special. They are possibly not essential-reading in understanding one of the best-beloved and talented authors of American history, Washington Irving, but it is a nice treat to read the work he produced with a younger pen.

[Martic · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars This audio version of the book had a great narrator, changing his voice between two of the characters. Considering this was written in 1802, we get an inside view of the mores in effect at the time, including the pros and cons of dueling. It is a collection of letters that "Jonathan Oldstyle" wrote to the local newspaper editor about things he disliked going on in society, particularly at the theater-and some things never change!

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to an audio recording by LibriVox. It is not listed here on GoodReads.

The book is a humorous story of a gentleman watching stage plays. He writes letters about his feelings/reactions. It is an interesting play on words that his views are the reactions of some one who prefers the ‘old style’ plays of his age.

[Miles Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irving's juvenilia. Interesting, but probably more useful for literary scholars than the general reader.

[Timothy Ferguson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Washington Irving — the Sleepy Hollow guy — wrote a series of observational letters to a newspaper. The early ones were about contemporary marriage, the middle series criticized the behavior of people performing and viewing theater, and the final one was about dueling. They are lovely little pieces, particularly the section about community performance, much of which is still relevant today. It is available in audio through Librivox, and in free e-book from either Internet Archive or Project Gutenberg.

This review was first posted on book coasters