BOOKS - musings inspired by Hazlitt 3rd May 2021
Should you prefer to listen to this blog, rather than read it, then please press HERE Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, if biased (Susan Hill) So now for something completely different: Some months ago I had cause to go into my attic to look through a box of books. Needless to say, I did not find what I was looking for! In passing though there was the six-volume (I think) set of The Bible printed by Dent at the beginning of the 20th Century. I remember buying them in Cirencester, mainly because of the quality of the paper and the exquisite printing - and the wonderful smell of old books. Not unsurprisingly, the pages were, for the most part, un-cut... However, that aside, what I DID chance upon was a small book of essays entitled "On Books and Character" by William Hazlitt (1718-1830). Hazlitt was not someone I knew anything about, but Wikipedia sorted THAT out: an interesting, if not terribly likeable character who numbered painting amongst his numerous skills. This is a