An invaluable collection of essays on literary criticism by Henry A. Beers, a 19th-century author, literary historian, poet, and professor at Yale University. Beers produced multiple works, including scholarly studies of literature, biographies, and volumes of poetry. He is most famous for his works on the historical development of literature. Contents include: The Connecticut Wits The Singer of the Old Swimmin' Hole Emerson's Journals The Art of Letter Writing Thackeray's Centenary Retrospects and Prospects of the English Drama Sheridan The Poetry of the Cavaliers Abraham Cowley Milton's Tercentenary Shakespeare's Contemporaries.