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George Saintsbury
1845–1933
A celebrated critic and man of letters, he wrote with energy and range about English and French literature, helping shape how generations of readers approached the canon. He was also known for bringing warmth and personality to criticism, especially in his writing on style, poetry, and even wine.
14 Audiobooks
A Short History of French Literature
by George Saintsbury
A history of criticism and literary taste in Europe from the earliest texts to the present day. Volume 2 (of 3), From the Renaissance to the decline of eighteenth century orthodoxy
by George Saintsbury
The English Novel
by George Saintsbury
A History of Elizabethan Literature
by George Saintsbury
A History of the French Novel, Vol. 1
by George Saintsbury
A history of criticism and literary taste in Europe, from the earliest texts to the present day. Volume 1 (of 3), Classical and mediæval criticism
by George Saintsbury
A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2
by George Saintsbury
Essays in English Literature, 1780-1860
by George Saintsbury
A History of Nineteenth Century Literature (1780-1895)
by George Saintsbury
Sir Walter Scott
by George Saintsbury
A Letter Book
by George Saintsbury
Historical Manual of English Prosody
by George Saintsbury
Matthew Arnold
by George Saintsbury
The Flourishing of Romance and the Rise of Allegory
by George Saintsbury
About the author
Born in Southampton in 1845, George Saintsbury was educated at King Edward VI School in Bath and at Merton College, Oxford. After some years in schoolmastering and journalism, he built a long career as one of the best-known literary critics of his time.
Saintsbury wrote widely on English and French literature, with major books on criticism, prose style, and the history of the novel. He later became Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, a post that confirmed his standing as an influential scholar and teacher.
What keeps him interesting is the personality in his work: even when he was highly learned, he rarely sounded dry. Alongside his literary studies, he also became famous for his enthusiastic writing about wine, showing the same curiosity and pleasure in reading that he brought to the rest of his subjects.