Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 1

by Elbert Hubbard

"Hubbard's little journeys to the homes of these men and women have not been equaled since Plutarch wrote his forty-six parallel lives of the Greeks and Romans." Includes: George Eliot, Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, William E. Gladstone, J.M.W. Turner, Jonathan Swift, Walt Whitman, Victor Hugo, William Wordsworth, William M. Thackeray, Charles Dickens, Oliver Goldsmith, William Shakespeare and Thomas A. Edison.

Genres: Biography, History

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1928

About the author

Elbert Green Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. He was an influential exponent of the Arts and Crafts movement and is, perhaps, most famous for his essay A Message to Garcia.

Also known as Fra Elbert Green, for the magazine he edited, Fra.

from http://freepages.history.rootsweb.anc...

For a more detailed look at this life, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbert_H...

Reviews

[David Burkam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elbert Hubbard was quite the character (and I admit to having over 60 decorative volumes from his Roycroft Press, most dated from 1896 to 1915).

Hubbard's Little Journeys books (originally published in monthly installments) reflect his own foibles as much as any accurate information about his subjects. He never let facts get in the way of a good story. In one Little Journey, Hubbard wrote of an encounter with a painter and his wife, surrounded by their loving children. Yet the couple in actuality was childless and the Mrs. rather distressed by Hubbard's callous disregard for the truth.

But his writing, if one approaches his Little Journeys as journeys as much into the fascinating mind of the author himself, is always entertaining and inspiring.

[Jessica Atwater · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad has this set of Little Journeys that belonged to his grandfather, Aubrey Olaf Andelin in a beautiful memorial handcrafted leather edition from 1922. He is loaning them to me, and they look so beautiful on my living room shelves. I believe that books are always more beautiful when they are read than when they are just display items, so I decided to start reading them, one chapter each Sunday.

Each chapter is an essay about a famous person, from William Shakespeare to Thomas Edison. Most are famous writers and thinkers William Wordsworth and Walt Whitman, and there are 13 essays in volume 1. The narrative voice is folksy and enthusiastic, but well educated and well read. It assumes you already know a fair amount about these men; these are not really biographical sketches. They are ramblings, giving them men context through the narrative device of visiting places where they lived and died. I am learning a lot, feeling connected to my family history, and enjoying the experience tremendously. Looking forward to volume 2.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Avis Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Available at Project Gutenberg:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12933