The Spirit of the Age

"The Spirit of the Age; Or, Contemporary Portraits" by William Hazlitt is a collection of character sketches published in 1825. Hazlitt portrays 25 prominent figures—poets, politicians, thinkers, and novelists—who embodied the defining trends of early 19th-century Britain. Drawing on his background as painter, critic, and social commentator, Hazlitt crafted vivid, personal portraits that pioneered a new literary form anticipating modern journalism. Though initially considered hastily assembled, the work is now recognized as his masterpiece, offering an enduring panorama of his era's intellectual and political landscape. (This is an automatically generated summary.)