Great Essays & Essayists
Explore a curated list of great essays and renowned essayists. Discover timeless books and masterpieces from the world's best writers to inspire your reading and writing journey.
Book
The Complete Essays
by Michel de Montaigne
In 1572 Montaigne retired to his estates in order to devote himself to leisure, reading and reflection. There he wrote his constantly expanding 'essays', inspired by the ideas he found in books from his library and his own experience. He discusses subjects as diverse as war-horses and cannibals, poetry and politics, sex and religion, love and friendship, ecstasy and experience. Above all, Montaigne studied himself to find his own inner nature and that of humanity. The Essays are among the most idiosyncratic and personal works in all literature. An insight into a wise Renaissance mind, they continue to engage, enlighten and entertain modern readers.
Book
Teaching a Stone to Talk
by Annie Dillard
Here, in this compelling assembly of writings, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Dillard explores the world of natural facts and human meanings.
Book
Ex Libris
by Anne Fadiman
A collection of essays discusses the central and joyful importance of books and reading in the author's life.
Book
The White Album
by Joan Didion
Essays on the author's experiences with American culture in the 1960s and 1970s.
