14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What makes good company, clear thinking, or a walk alone worth more than a room full of clever talk?
In Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners, William Hazlitt turns everyday pleasures and human weaknesses into lively questions. His short essays move through painting, travel, learning, politics and conversation. He values good books and skilled hands, but has little patience for pretence. His plain, quick voice feels like a friend speaking across the table.
On Familiar Style asks why careful, plain words matter. On Going a Journey takes pleasure in the road, hedges and a plain inn. On the Feeling of Immortality in Youth explores the young person's sense that death cannot touch them. Across these pieces, Hazlitt follows each thought where it leads, bringing strong opinions to experiences you can recognise.
What you’ll discover
- Words without pretence Discover Hazlitt's case for writing that sounds like speech, with plain words chosen carefully.
- Room for your thoughts Walk alone with On Going a Journey, where solitude makes space for thought and pleasure.
- Youth meets time Consider why the young find it so hard to believe their lives will end.
- Colour and craft On the Pleasure of Painting finds happiness in mixing colour and watching a likeness grow.
- Certainty over coffee Meet the confident news-debaters of On Coffee-house Politicians through Hazlitt's sharp eye for human weakness.
Who will love it
This is for readers who love lively essays, sharp portraits of real people, and thoughts on art, books, fame, memory, and character, all in a warm, argumentative voice.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Painting brings peace through honest work
- Practice deepens the pleasure of art
- The past deserves our attention
- Feeling can judge before reason explains
- Genius discovers rather than merely stores
- Tested skill keeps achievement honest
- Knowledge needs life beyond books
- Public praise often follows fear
- Solitude gives the present room
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners
by William Hazlitt · 1821
A painter, a fives player and a spy's passing face show Hazlitt how the mind knows more than it can say.
Challenging10–20 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with challenging classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“I am never less alone than when I am alone.”
In short
Why does a stranger's face, glimpsed for a second through an inn window, ruin a man's breakfast before he even knows who the stranger is? William Hazlitt tells this small story in Table Talk.
Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners at a glance
- Reading time
- About 10 h 25 min8 h 15 min fast, 12 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 148,600 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1821by William Hazlitt
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Painting brings a peace that writing cannot
Hazlitt opens the book with a confession. He takes little pleasure in writing his essays, but deep pleasure in painting. In writing, you contend with the world. In painting, you carry on a friendly struggle with Nature.
At the easel, no angry passion shakes the hand. There is no opponent to crush and no fool to annoy. You study a plant, a tree stump, or a stain on an old wall, and every minute teaches you something. When he paints, he turns names into things, and the eye tests the hand at once, so self-love cannot hide a fault.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1821
- Language
- English
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Hazlitt, William. Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/table-talk-essays-on-men-and-manners.
Hazlitt, W. (2026). Table talk: Essays on men and manners. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/table-talk-essays-on-men-and-manners (Original work published 1821)
Hazlitt, William. Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/table-talk-essays-on-men-and-manners.
@book{hazlitt2026table,
author = {Hazlitt, William},
title = {Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/table-talk-essays-on-men-and-manners},
note = {First published 1821}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Table Talk by William Hazlitt about?
It is a collection of essays on painting, genius, common sense, the past, fame, patronage, character, solitude, and death. Hazlitt explains each idea through examples from his own life, from artists, writers, and the people he meets.
Who was William Hazlitt?
Hazlitt was an English essayist and critic who died in 1830. He began as a painter, became a famous writer on Shakespeare, the theatre, and politics, and shaped the personal essay with his frank, vivid voice.
What does Hazlitt say about genius and common sense?
He argues that genius is a new kind of power that sees nature differently from others, yet truly. Common sense, he says, is the sum of countless unspoken impressions from experience, and it works best with reason.
The author
William Hazlitt
1778–1830 · English essayist and critic
William Hazlitt was an English essayist and critic, born in Maidstone in 1778. He lived in London and died there in 1830. He wrote about literature, art, politics, and the theatre. His books include Lectures on the English Poets, published in 1818, and Table Talk, published in 1821 and 1822.
“I am never less alone than when I am alone.”
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
