Project Gutenberg 1996-12-01 Public domain in the USA. 783 Holmes, Oliver Wendell 1809 1894 The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Autocrat_of_the_Breakfast-Table Transcribed from the 1873 James R. Osgood and Company edition by David Price "The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table" by Oliver Wendell Holmes is a philosophical and comedic collection of essays written during the mid-19th century. The book is presented as a series of delightful dinner-table conversations, primarily featuring an engaging narrator whose reflections touch on a variety of topics including human nature, society, and the art of conversation itself. Holmes utilizes wit and keen observation to explore intellectual thoughts, social dynamics, and the quirks of humanity amidst the everyday setting of a boarding house. The opening of the book introduces the narrator, possibly a representation of Holmes himself, who reflects on conversations that revolve around classification of minds and the nature of discussion. It features a lively dialogue among the boarders, including a divinity student and an old gentleman, which reveals the eccentricities of their personalities and the humorous dynamics at play. The narrator elaborates on the concept of “Mutual Admiration Societies” among intellectuals, humorously critiquing how public perceptions influence the admiration of men of talent. Through detailed observations, the protagonist's light-hearted yet insightful comments set the stage for a blending of humor, philosophy, and social commentary that characterizes the rest of the work. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 65.3 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Poetry American fiction -- 19th century Conversation -- Fiction Boardinghouses -- Fiction PS Text Category: Humour Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: American Literature 572991 2025-07-01T07:04:13.421442 text/html 588432 2014-12-29T19:34:56 text/html 1334585 2013-01-15T14:02:42 text/html application/zip 1436193 2025-07-01T07:04:23.195410 application/epub+zip 1439699 2025-07-01T07:04:16.848423 application/epub+zip 309431 2025-07-01T07:04:15.477442 application/epub+zip 1678085 2025-07-01T07:04:28.021355 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1638890 2025-07-01T07:04:22.067420 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 500783 2022-09-01T07:59:16.773452 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 549659 2025-07-01T07:04:12.603440 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 549357 2013-01-15T13:54:08 text/plain; charset=utf-8 224487 2013-01-15T14:02:42 text/plain; charset=utf-8 application/zip 543820 2013-01-15T14:02:24 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 223108 2013-01-15T14:02:24 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 21606 2025-07-01T07:04:28.162346 application/rdf+xml 16771 2025-07-01T07:04:15.984416 image/jpeg 3864 2025-07-01T07:04:15.728409 image/jpeg 1423634 2025-07-01T07:04:13.513433 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia