George Lyttelton's Commonplace Book

by George Lyttelton

164 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

George William Lyttelton (1883-1962)
British teacher who became well-known posthumously with the publication of his letters with former student Rupert Hart-Davis.

Reviews

[Edmund Chattoe-Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can't really lose with a commonplace book but it is rare to win totally either. So it is here. This has a good number of nice things (but, be warned, it assumes the reader can translate French at sight). The poetry, in my view has dated quite badly. It is intriguing to see how long some "memes" (like the jokey medical insurance claims: "I have been in bed with the doctor for three weeks and am no better.") have been around. This book was obviously intended as a memorial to Humphrey Lyttleton's father (who lived a fairly quiet life teaching at Eton) so it is extended (or less charitably padded out) with a memorial that GWL wrote to a friend who fell at Jutland and some letters between GWL and Rupert Hart-Davis the publisher prior to the published correspondence. Personally, the memoir didn't make much impression but the letters are regularly witty (and it makes you realise that not so many people nowadays could read a published book and make comments on the previous editions it was compiled from.) Well worth a read if you like commonplace books but not necessarily the place to start if you want to try this genre.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This elegant volume comprises Lyttleton's commonplace book, Lyttleton's short biogaphy of Charles Fisher and some letters between Lyttleton and Ruper Hart-Davis. The commonplace book is just the right length and is a solid addition to this nice genre. The biography and the letters are also entertaining but very, very English.