Microcosmography.

In the age of Shakespeare and Jonson, a fashion arose for the brief, pointed prose portrait, the sketch of a recognisable human type, and this collection stands among the finest examples of that peculiarly English art.

What it's about

Microcosmography offers a series of short character sketches, each capturing a familiar figure of the day, the scholar, the tavern-keeper, the pretender, the honest man, in a few deft and pointed paragraphs. Together they compose a shrewd, affectionate, and often satirical portrait of a society.

Themes

Human folly and virtue, the comedy of social types, moral discernment through observation, and the pleasures of wit exercised on everyday life. Beneath the humour runs a genuine curiosity about people.

Why it still matters

The character sketch shaped the later essay, the newspaper column, and the comic novel. This collection preserves the form at its liveliest, and its portraits of human nature remain recognisable across four centuries.

Who it's for

Lovers of the essay and of English prose, readers of the seventeenth century, and anyone who delights in sharp, economical observation of human character.