Olla Podrida (Volume I)

By Frederick Marryat

Book Overview

An Olla Podrida is a Victorian mixed dish: brisk, surprising, and wonderfully knowing. In Volume I, Frederick Marryat turns from sea tales to a victorian essay collection of humorous literary sketches that skewer manners, fashions, and folly with a sailor's plain sense. Small moments; sharp wit; laughter. These everyday life sketches move with the ease of conversation yet land as british social satire, balancing amusement with witty moral reflections. Read it for the crackle of observation: the kind of charles dickens style humor that spots a human weakness in a crowd, and the cooler edge of william thackeray satire when pretence struts too loudly. First published amid the high-Victorian print boom, these essays belong to the lively magazine culture that nourished the great novelists. Marryat watches speech, class, and small hypocrisies with reporter-like clarity, giving this light reading an unexpected social-historical bite for modern readers of prose. As a classic prose anthology, it suits dipping in and returning to, each piece offering another facet of nineteenth century britain and the textures of victorian england literature. Republished by Alpha Editions in a careful modern edition, this volume preserves the spirit of the original while making it effortless to enjoy today - a heritage title prepared for readers and collectors alike. Whether you want a kindle classic edition for daily reading or a handsome copy to round out your shelves, this is the complete volume one of Marryat's lighter, sharper work: a window onto the talk, tastes, and contradictions of its age.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9354541240
• ISBN13: 9789354541247
• Release Date: April 2021
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 322 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"