William St Clair
The Spirit of His Age
William Hazlitt: The First Modern Man
By Duncan Wu
Oxford University Press 557pp £25 order from our bookshop
Of the many famous authors who flourished in the so-called ‘Romantic’ period, William Hazlitt is among the most easily accessible. After two centuries he appears to speak to us directly, concisely, and without condescension. His writings are short, sharp, witty and merciless. As an English essayist he is unsurpassed. His quips have not dated – ‘There is nothing good to be had in the country, or if there is, they will not let you have it.’ Two of his works are enduring masterpieces: The Spirit of the Age, a series of profiles of his contemporaries, and Liber Amoris, his pain-filled autobiographical account of his love for Sarah Walker, who beckoned him across the social as well as the age and gender divides.
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