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Anatomy of Melancholy (Revised)
Anatomy of Melancholy (Revised) | Robert Burton
5 posts | 5 read | 20 to read
One of the major documents of modern European civilization, Robert Burton's astounding compendium, a survey of melancholy in all its myriad forms, has invited nothing but superlatives since its publication in the seventeenth century. Lewellyn Powys called it "the greatest work of prose of the greatest period of English prose-writing," while the celebrated surgeon William Osler declared it the greatest of medical treatises. And Dr. Johnson, Boswell reports, said it was the only book that he rose early in the morning to read with pleasure. In this surprisingly compact and elegant new edition, Burton's spectacular verbal labyrinth is sure to delight, instruct, and divert today's readers as much as it has those of the past four centuries.
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averil
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First edition fun-fact: That beautiful frontispiece when you Google this book? Not in here! Doesn‘t show up until the fourth edition. And this one is only a quarto! Super cute accessory for your well-dressed-but-still-depressed 17th-century stroll 🤩🤩

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Leftcoastzen
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#soulSeptember #melancoly I hunted for this book so hard ,and back in the day , there were very few reprints.(No online ordering either)I consider it a major failing that I haven‘t read it yet.For those in the #NYRBbookclub they have an edition. Hey , at least I‘m honest about it .😀

batsy That looks wonderful. Was mulling over ordering the NYRB edition... It's a chunkster 😅 5y
Leftcoastzen @batsy it‘s got that sort of cultural heft that I thought would intrigue you! When I was hunting it down, I was reading several books that referred to it. Can I remember now what they were? Well of course not. 5y
batsy ? If that doesn't sum up my reading life! As for the Burton, I've heard people say it's very "readable", for lack of a better word, so that's rather encouraging! 5y
Eggs This sounds amazing 💗👏🏻📚👏🏻💗 5y
sisilia I have the NYRB edition.. I‘ll leave it for next year 😃 5y
47 likes5 comments
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PagesOfKate
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Pretty heavy going so I only dip in and out of it...I might be done by 2020!
"All my joys to this are folly,
Naught so sweet as melancholy."
#Goodmorningheartache #Fiercefeb
@Cinfhen @batsy

batsy Nice! Lovely NYRB edition. 6y
PagesOfKate Thanks @batsy I got it new through Amazon but it arrived with a wrinkled front cover. I'm thinking there's a damp problem at one of the Amazon warehouses because I keep recieving slightly soggy books 😞 6y
Cinfhen That‘s annoying @PagesOfKate it‘s still a beautiful looking cover 6y
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Cinfhen Maybe a drop menacing 6y
batsy Oh no, that sucks! I hope they're pretty good with doing exchanges if some of them are in really bad shape 6y
PagesOfKate They're pretty great with refunds/exchanges @batsy but if it's just superficial damage to the book I tend to let it go.... otherwise I'd have to deal with Amazon customer service, aka the tenth circle of hell. 6y
55 likes6 comments
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Hobbinol
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#DeckleEdge #FeistyFeb

I've had this one on my shelf forever. It gets lonelier with each passing year...

saresmoore "...sure to delight, instruct, and divert..." It just seems an odd description for a book about melancholy. ? 7y
Hobbinol @saresmoore Well I'm delighted with your comment all the same 😉 7y
saresmoore @Hobbinol, I think you are easy to please! 😘 7y
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rubyslippersreads Isn't this the book Francie checks out of the library because she's reading her way through the Bs? 7y
Hobbinol @rubyslippersreads I don't know. I'm sure there must be someone out there who knows... Anyone? Did Francie read Burton? It certainly would make an interesting prompt: fictional characters and their books. 7y
LeahBergen Is that a teardrop or a noose? 😂 7y
Hobbinol @LeahBergen That's a big salty tear! GAW! 7y
rubyslippersreads @Hobbinol I just checked my copy of ATGIB, and no mention of the book. I think I'm remembering it from the old movie; the librarian remarks on Francie choosing it, and she explains she's reading all the books in alphabetical order. 7y
Hobbinol @rubyslippersreads I haven't read the book, but I did see the film (quite some time ago) and I still can't remember!😆How bad is that?! 7y
rubyslippersreads I watched it not too long ago, so that's probably why I remember. The librarian tells Francie to take another book, "just for fun," which I think was (edited) 7y
52 likes10 comments
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twohectobooks
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Finding this so oddly uplifting and hopeful. Just what I need right now. (It's not in the litsy database yet though 🙁)