author
John Earle
d. 1665
Best known for the lively character sketches in Micro-cosmographie, this 17th-century English writer combined sharp wit with a humane eye for everyday behavior. He also had a notable church career, serving close to the royal court before becoming Bishop of Worcester and then Salisbury.
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About the author
Born around 1601 in York, John Earle was an English cleric, author, and translator who studied at Oxford. He is remembered most for Micro-cosmographie (1628), a popular collection of brief character portraits that observes ordinary social types with humor, elegance, and sympathy.
Earle moved in important literary and royal circles and later became chaplain to Charles II. After the Restoration, his church career rose quickly: he was appointed Bishop of Worcester and then Bishop of Salisbury.
His writing has lasted because it feels both sharp and warm. Even when he satirized people's habits and pretensions, he did so with a light touch that still makes his work approachable for modern readers.