The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Field, Eugene, 1850-1895

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac" by Eugene Field is a collection of autobiographical essays written during the late 19th century. This work showcases Field's passion for book collecting, exploring both the joys and the quirks that come with bibliomania. The narrative is framed around the experiences of the main character, an avid book lover, who reflects on his life, the books he cherishes, and the significant moments intertwined with his literary pursuits. At the start of the book, the author introduces a humorous and introspective character steeped in nostalgia and affection for his earliest encounters with books. He recalls the charm of finding love in the pages of an old "New England Primer" and his literary journey through childhood. The opening portion also shares the author's affection for notable figures from his past, like Captivity Waite, and sets an overall tone of playful reverie. As he examines his relationships with various books, the character's reflections shed light on the transformative power of literature and its enduring place in one's life, blending humor with heartfelt sentiment. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

My first love

The birth of a new passion

The luxury of reading in bed

The mania of collecting seizes me

Baldness and intellectuality

My romance with Fiammetta

The delights of fender-fishing

Ballads and their makers

Booksellers and printers, old and new

When Fanchonette bewitched me

Diagnosis of the Bacillus Librorum

The pleasures of extra-illustration

On the odors which my books exhale

Elzevirs and divers other matters

A book that brings solace and cheer

The malady called Catalogitis

The Napoleonic Renaissance

My workshop and others

Our debt to monkish men.

Credits:

Produced by Charles Keller

Notes:

Reading ease score: 58.4 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.

Release date is 1996-02-01