The Annotated Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Imagine a boardinghouse in the days when the Civil War was still a decade in the future - in which an erudite, polished, witty, sophisticated, learned gentleman holds forth each day at breakfast, entertaining the boarders with fascinating talk: observations on people and nature, occasional flights of verse, remarks on current events, moralizations and philosophical thoughts, and anything else that comes to his mind. Imagine a boardinghouse full of people putting up with such a man and even liking and respecting him!
There you have it: the Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, as imagined by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., father of the famous Supreme Court justice, dean of Harvard Medical School, lecturer, writer, poet, co-founder of the The Atlantic, and as charming a conversationalist as one would care to meet - provided, of course, you don't interrupt him! And yet, for all his powers of mind, he is very human as well; there is one of the lady boarders, a certain schoolmistress - keep an eye on her!
As if the charm, grace, and variety of this man's mind were not enough, the book also gives us a fascinating picture of life in the United States - specifically in Boston - over 150 years ago. The manners, morals, opinions, thoughts, and dreams of Americans of that time are fascinating, both in their similarities and differences to our own and in the ways in which the unspoken assumptions that underlie so much of who we are have changed and yet remain recognizable.
There are two or three passages in which the unquestioned, indeed almost un-examined racism of the day does appear. We do well to remember that some of our greatest minds have thought and spoken in that way. For that reason those expressions remain as Holmes wrote them in 1857.
Author - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr..
Narrator - Robert Bethune.
Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Location:
United States
Networks:
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Robert Bethune
Freshwater Seas
English Audiobooks
Findaway Audiobooks
Description:
Imagine a boardinghouse in the days when the Civil War was still a decade in the future - in which an erudite, polished, witty, sophisticated, learned gentleman holds forth each day at breakfast, entertaining the boarders with fascinating talk: observations on people and nature, occasional flights of verse, remarks on current events, moralizations and philosophical thoughts, and anything else that comes to his mind. Imagine a boardinghouse full of people putting up with such a man and even liking and respecting him! There you have it: the Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, as imagined by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., father of the famous Supreme Court justice, dean of Harvard Medical School, lecturer, writer, poet, co-founder of the The Atlantic, and as charming a conversationalist as one would care to meet - provided, of course, you don't interrupt him! And yet, for all his powers of mind, he is very human as well; there is one of the lady boarders, a certain schoolmistress - keep an eye on her! As if the charm, grace, and variety of this man's mind were not enough, the book also gives us a fascinating picture of life in the United States - specifically in Boston - over 150 years ago. The manners, morals, opinions, thoughts, and dreams of Americans of that time are fascinating, both in their similarities and differences to our own and in the ways in which the unspoken assumptions that underlie so much of who we are have changed and yet remain recognizable. There are two or three passages in which the unquestioned, indeed almost un-examined racism of the day does appear. We do well to remember that some of our greatest minds have thought and spoken in that way. For that reason those expressions remain as Holmes wrote them in 1857. Author - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.. Narrator - Robert Bethune. Published Date - Thursday, 19 January 2023.
Language:
English
Chapter 1
Duration:00:00:16
Chapter 2
Duration:00:04:49
Chapter 3
Duration:00:04:55
Chapter 4
Duration:00:05:01
Chapter 5
Duration:00:05:03
Chapter 6
Duration:00:04:55
Chapter 7
Duration:00:05:01
Chapter 8
Duration:00:05:58
Chapter 9
Duration:00:04:05
Chapter 10
Duration:00:04:52
Chapter 11
Duration:00:04:44
Chapter 12
Duration:00:05:20
Chapter 13
Duration:00:01:25
Chapter 14
Duration:00:03:31
Chapter 15
Duration:00:05:04
Chapter 16
Duration:00:04:52
Chapter 17
Duration:00:05:01
Chapter 18
Duration:00:04:59
Chapter 19
Duration:00:05:05
Chapter 20
Duration:00:05:59
Chapter 21
Duration:00:03:57
Chapter 22
Duration:00:05:01
Chapter 23
Duration:00:04:57
Chapter 24
Duration:00:04:59
Chapter 25
Duration:00:04:59
Chapter 26
Duration:00:04:57
Chapter 27
Duration:00:05:15
Chapter 28
Duration:00:04:49
Chapter 29
Duration:00:03:21
Chapter 30
Duration:00:06:37
Chapter 31
Duration:00:04:59
Chapter 32
Duration:00:05:13
Chapter 33
Duration:00:04:46
Chapter 34
Duration:00:05:00
Chapter 35
Duration:00:04:55
Chapter 36
Duration:00:05:13
Chapter 37
Duration:00:04:52
Chapter 38
Duration:00:05:04
Chapter 39
Duration:00:06:37
Chapter 40
Duration:00:03:16
Chapter 41
Duration:00:04:58
Chapter 42
Duration:00:04:59
Chapter 43
Duration:00:05:04
Chapter 44
Duration:00:05:01
Chapter 45
Duration:00:04:56
Chapter 46
Duration:00:04:55
Chapter 47
Duration:00:05:09
Chapter 48
Duration:00:04:50
Chapter 49
Duration:00:04:10
Chapter 50
Duration:00:03:56
Chapter 51
Duration:00:06:56
Chapter 52
Duration:00:05:02
Chapter 53
Duration:00:04:52
Chapter 54
Duration:00:05:03
Chapter 55
Duration:00:04:58
Chapter 56
Duration:00:05:02
Chapter 57
Duration:00:05:02
Chapter 58
Duration:00:04:58
Chapter 59
Duration:00:05:03
Chapter 60
Duration:00:03:54
Chapter 61
Duration:00:03:30
Chapter 62
Duration:00:05:30
Chapter 63
Duration:00:04:30
Chapter 64
Duration:00:04:58
Chapter 65
Duration:00:04:21
Chapter 66
Duration:00:06:05
Chapter 67
Duration:00:06:14
Chapter 68
Duration:00:04:46
Chapter 69
Duration:00:06:06
Chapter 70
Duration:00:06:27
Chapter 71
Duration:00:05:43
Chapter 72
Duration:00:07:41
Chapter 73
Duration:00:05:00
Chapter 74
Duration:00:05:01
Chapter 75
Duration:00:04:58
Chapter 76
Duration:00:05:03
Chapter 77
Duration:00:04:59
Chapter 78
Duration:00:04:57
Chapter 79
Duration:00:04:50
Chapter 80
Duration:00:05:09
Chapter 81
Duration:00:04:59
Chapter 82
Duration:00:05:02
Chapter 83
Duration:00:05:05
Chapter 84
Duration:00:04:57
Chapter 85
Duration:00:04:53
Chapter 86
Duration:00:05:01
Chapter 87
Duration:00:05:00
Chapter 88
Duration:00:05:03
Chapter 89
Duration:00:04:56
Chapter 90
Duration:00:04:05
Chapter 91
Duration:00:05:50
Chapter 92
Duration:00:05:01
Chapter 93
Duration:00:04:58
Chapter 94
Duration:00:05:00
Chapter 95
Duration:00:05:08
Chapter 96
Duration:00:04:54
Chapter 97
Duration:00:04:58
Chapter 98
Duration:00:04:58
Chapter 99
Duration:00:04:53
Chapter 100
Duration:00:05:10
Chapter 101
Duration:00:05:13
Chapter 102
Duration:00:04:43
Chapter 103
Duration:00:05:00
Chapter 104
Duration:00:04:59
Chapter 105
Duration:00:05:00
Chapter 106
Duration:00:05:00
Chapter 107
Duration:00:05:02
Chapter 108
Duration:00:06:02
Chapter 109
Duration:00:05:37
Chapter 110
Duration:00:03:17
Chapter 111
Duration:00:04:58
Chapter 112
Duration:00:05:17
Chapter 113
Duration:00:04:43
Chapter 114
Duration:00:05:05
Chapter 115
Duration:00:04:57
Chapter 116
Duration:00:04:57
Chapter 117
Duration:00:05:06
Chapter 118
Duration:00:04:53
Chapter 119
Duration:00:05:08
Chapter 120
Duration:00:04:56
Chapter 121
Duration:00:04:56
Chapter 122
Duration:00:04:30
Chapter 123
Duration:00:00:52