Originally published in 1930, this book is comprised of a series of papers written for the Royal Society of Literature. The papers concern themselves with various aspects of life and literature during the 1880s, including novels, poetry, theatre, criticism and other areas. Edited by Walter De La Mare, the text contains notable contributions from figures such as T. S. Eliot and G. K. Chesterton. This is a highly readable book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in the 1880s, nineteenth-century literature and early twentieth-century literary criticism.