Comfort Found in Good Old Books

Comfort Found in Good Old Books is a literary work by George Hamlin Fitch. The book is a collection of essays that explore the timeless wisdom and comfort that can be found in classic literature. Fitch highlights the power of books to offer solace and guidance in times of personal struggle and uncertainty. He draws on his own experiences as a reader and writer, as well as the insights of renowned authors such as Shakespeare, Dickens, and Thoreau. The essays cover a wide range of topics, from the importance of self-reflection to the value of community and social justice. Through his engaging prose and thoughtful analysis, Fitch encourages readers to turn to the classics as a source of inspiration and comfort in their own lives. Comfort Found in Good Old Books is a must-read for anyone who loves literature and seeks to find meaning and solace in its pages.1911. Fitch writes in the Introduction: These short essays on the best old books in the world were inspired by the sudden death of an only son, without whom I had not thought life worth living. To tide me over the first weeks of bitter grief I plunged into this work of reviewing the great books from the Bible to the works of the eighteenth century writers. The suggestion came from many readers who were impressed by the fact that in the darkest hour of sorrow my only comfort came from the habit of reading, which Gibbon declared he would not exchange for the wealth of the Indies. If these essays induce any one to cultivate the reading habit, which has been so great a solace to me in time of trouble, then I shall feel fully repaid. Contents: Comfort Found in Good Old Books; The Greatest Book in the World; Shakespeare Stands Next to the Bible; How to Read the Ancient Classics; The Arabian Nights and Other Classics; The Confessions of St. Augustine; Don Quixote, One of the World’s Great Books; The Imitation of Christ; The Ruba-iyat of Omar Khayyam; The Divine Comedy by Dante; How to Get the Best Out of Books; Milton’s Paradise Lost and Other Poems; Pilgrim’s Progress the Finest of all Allegories; Old Dr. Johnson and His Boswell; and Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver’s Travels.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world’s literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.