The Professor at the Breakfast-Table

Name: The Professor at the Breakfast-Table
Author: Oliver Wendell Holmes

By Oliver Wendell Holmes

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American Literature Essays, Letters & Speeches Humour

About This Book

A series of linked conversational essays staged around a boarding-house breakfast table, in which a learned, talkative elder and his fellow boarders exchange witty observations, anecdotes, and light philosophical debates. Conversations range across literary criticism, social manners, scientific curiosities, and personal reminiscence, mixing playful verse and satirical sketches with reflective prose. The work relies on colloquial dialogue and humorous character portraits to probe human foibles, memory, and the habits of everyday life, shifting fluidly between jocular banter and earnest reflection.

About the Author

Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. was an American physician, poet, and essayist, known for his contributions to literature and his role in the development of American thought in the 19th century. He was a prominent figure in the literary circles of his time and is best remembered for his work "A Mortal Antipathy," which explores themes of love and social interaction through a unique narrative style. Holmes was also a key member of the Fireside Poets, a group that included notable contemporaries such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and James Russell Lowell. His essays, particularly those in "Medical Essays, 1842-1882," reflect his keen observations on society and culture, showcasing his wit and intellect.