The Complete Prose Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson: with a critical introduction

Ward Lock, London, circa 1893. Edition Unstated. Hardcover (Original Cloth). Very Good Condition/No Dust Jacket. A volume in the Minerva Library of Famous Books with an introduction by G. T. Bettany. Tissue-guarded b/w. frontis. portrait of Emerson. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82) was the most prominent American essayist, abolitionist,, poet and philosopher of the 19th century. In 1833, Emerson set himself up in Concord, Massachusetts, and began his career as a lecturer and essayist. In his first book, Nature, in 1836, he introduced some of his key ideas such as idealism and unity. 'Nature' attracted a number of followers, such as Bronson Alcott, Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, Theodore Parker, Orestes Brownson, Margaret Fuller, and Henry David Thoreau, all of whom started meeting at Emerson's house regularly. Eventually, this group of like-minded writers and intellectuals would become known as Transcendentalists and create their own magazine, The Dial (1840-1844), as an outlet for their ideas. Many of Emerson's ideas, such as the metaphysical unity of God, nature, and humanity, his disregard for books, and the power and responsibility of the individual, were all at some level inspired by his engagement with Hindu texts, and he made occasional references to gods and stories from these texts in his essays. Green end-papers & 6 pages of publisher's adverts to rear. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. viii +656 + 6. Previous owner's book-plate inside front cover plus other signatures to fep. Some pencilled notes to rear end-paper.. Gilt titles spine & front with gilt borders & blind-stamped decorations. / Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Philosophy; Transcendentalists; Minerva Library; Essays & Literary Criticism; United States; 19th century; Literature & Literary. Inventory No: 5107. .