Résumé
Résumé de Essais et récits modernes
Go deeper: the whole of Essais et récits modernes
About 7 h 30 min to read.À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
You will love this book if you enjoy short, friendly pieces, from dog stories to ghost tales, and like trying a writer's craft on your own subject.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
Why does a plowman whistle as he works? Frederick Houk Law opens this anthology with that question. People whistle, sing and write essays for the pleasure of saying something, with no wish to teach anyone.
Modern Essays and Stories is a school collection that Law put together after the First World War. It begins with short guides to the essay and the short story, then offers about thirty selections, from familiar essays and portraits to satires, a legend and letters. The writers range from Chesterton and H. G. Wells to Theodore Roosevelt. Each piece ends with questions and a prompt for writing in the same manner.
Dans ce résumé
- 1An essay is friendly talk, not a lessonFree
- 2Small things deserve a loving look
- 3Portraits win us through small details
- 4Looking closely makes ordinary things precious
- 5Read with meditation and a picturing mind
- 6A ghost story is told by suggestion alone
- 7Short lives and visits fill the biographical essays
- 8Old tales move by clear turns of fortune
- 9Humor grows from character and small mistakes
- 10Opinion pieces and letters teach the craft
Point clé 1 sur 10
An essay is friendly talk, not a lesson
Law begins with a picture. A plowman whistles over the field and a milkmaid sings, and neither wants an audience. They are busy and glad, and the gladness has to come out somewhere. Many fine English essays began the same way.
The modern essay, he says, was invented in France in 1571 by Michel de Montaigne, who read and wrote for nine years in the tower of his estate. Francis Bacon wrote more stiffly. Charles Lamb later brought back the warm personal voice.
A textbook covers everything a subject needs. An essay only touches the subject, comments and wanders. Law compares truth in an essay to gold in river sand. It may sparkle there, but the river does not exist to produce it.
Listen to an essay as you would to a friend. An essay is a person talking, and its charm is the person.
That’s 1 of 10 key points.
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Go deeper: the whole of Essais et récits modernes
About 7 h 30 min to read.Questions about Essais et récits modernes
What is Modern Essays and Stories about?
It is a school anthology edited by Frederick Houk Law. It offers short guides to the essay and the short story, then about thirty selections by early twentieth-century writers, each followed by questions and a writing exercise.
Which writers appear in Modern Essays and Stories?
The authors include Gilbert K. Chesterton, H. G. Wells, Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Van Dyke, Algernon Blackwood, Anzia Yezierska, Agnes Repplier, Brander Matthews and William Rose Benét, along with many others.
What is a familiar essay?
Law describes it as friendly talk on any subject that interests the writer, however small. It wanders, uses anecdotes, and shows the writer's personality more than it explains the subject.
Is Modern Essays and Stories easy to read?
Most pieces are brief, written in plain, lively language, and can be enjoyed one at a time. Dogs, ghosts, journeys and humor make the entry points welcoming, and the questions help you notice how each piece works.
What is the main message of the book?
Law's message is that good writing starts with real interest and honest voice. The essays and tales show how to write about what you know and love, and each exercise invites you to try.
Cite this edition
Modern Essays and Stories. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/modern-essays-and-stories.
Modern essays and stories. (2026). Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/modern-essays-and-stories
Modern Essays and Stories. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/modern-essays-and-stories.
@book{anonymous2026modern,
title = {Modern Essays and Stories},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/modern-essays-and-stories}
}
