Here, in this unusual collection, are some of the greatest essays in Western literature. Witty, informative and imaginative; the topics vary from starvation in Ireland, fine China, the extension of railways in the Lake District and the tombs in Westminster Abbey. A little like after-dinner monologues, they are passing thoughts expressed as journalism. Neville Jason reads with urbane clarity. Written by Michel de Montaigne, Jonathan Swift, Thomas Carlyle, Joseph Addison, Samuel Johnson