Edmund Gosse, Father and Son

[Patrick Murtha]

Today is Edmund Gosse’s birthday (1849), so I thought I would draw attention to his classic memoir Father and Son (1907), “A Study of Two Temperaments”. The influence of this unabashedly revealing book on the development of autobiography in English was decisive.

May I recommend, if you take it up, to read it in tandem with Samuel Butler’s great novel The Way of All Flesh (1903). I can scarcely think of two books that so illuminate each other.

 

[Cleanthess]

Thanks for the suggestion. I love The Way of All Flesh (and most of Butler's work).

 

[Patrick Murtha]

Butler’s Notebooks, which have been published in various non-identical editions, are really good!