''The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table'' (1858) is a collection of essays written by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. The essays were originally published in '' The Atlantic Monthly'' in 1857 and 1858 before being collected in book form. The author had written two essays with the same name which were published in the earlier ''

The New-England Magazine ''The New-England Magazine'' was a monthly literary magazine published in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1831 to 1835. Overview The magazine was published by Joseph T. Buckingham and his son Edwin. The first edition was published in July 1831, a ...

'' in November 1831 and February 1832, which are alluded to in a mention of an "interruption" at the start of the first essay.

Overview

The essays take the form of a chiefly one-sided dialogue between the unnamed Author and the other residents of a New England boarding house who are known only by their profession, location at the table or other defining characteristics. The topics discussed range from an essay on the unexpected benefits of old age to the finest place to site a dwelling and comments on the nature of conversation itself. The tone of the book is distinctly Yankee and takes a seriocomic approach to the subject matter. Each essay typically ends with a poem on the theme of the essay. There are also poems ostensibly written by the fictional disputants scattered throughout.

Publication history

In 1830, Holmes moved out of his childhood home in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

, and stayed in a boardinghouse in Boston while attending the city's medical college. During this time, he wrote two essays detailing life at his boardinghouse. They were published under the title ''The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table'' in November 1831 and February 1832 in ''The New England Magazine''. Years later, Holmes was instrumental in establishing '' The Atlantic Monthly'' in 1856, even providing the magazine's title. For its first issue, Holmes published new versions of his prior essays based on fictionalized breakfast table talk and including poetry, stories, jokes and songs. These essays were not collected in book form until 1858.Sullivan, Wilson. ''New England Men of Letters''. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1972: 237. .

The ''Breakfast-Table'' series

In addition to ''Autocrat'', there are two further volumes in the series drawing on later essays along similar themes. The first sequel, ''The Professor at the Breakfast-Table'', was published in 1859. Its second sequel, ''The Poet at the Breakfast-Table'', was published much later in 1872. The original "Autocrat" of the first series dies and is replaced by a physician who trained in Paris who is also a faculty member of a well-known medical school in the sequel. Holmes also included a character nicknamed "Little Boston", the last surviving member of a well-established Massachusetts family that was known to be a satirical version of Holmes himself.Dowling, William C. ''Oliver Wendell Holmes in Paris: Medicine, Theology, and the "Autocrat of the Breakfast Table"''. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2006: 123. The final installment, ''The Poet at the Breakfast Table'', focuses on a character referred to as The Master, who advocates modern scientific ideas. The fifteen-year gap between the original ''Breakfast-Table'' book and its final installment allowed a very different tone which was more mellow and nostalgic than its predecessors. Holmes wrote of it: "As people grow older ... they come at length to live so much in memory that they often think with a kind of pleasure of losing their dearest possessions. Nothing can be so perfect while we possess it as it will seem when remembered".

Critical response

Holmes's essays were well received by critics and readers alike and their inclusion in ''The Atlantic Monthly'' in 1857 helped secure that magazine's early success. In book form, ''The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table'' sold ten thousand copies in only three days.Hoyt, Edwin Palmer. ''The Improper Bostonian: Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes''. New York: Morrow, 1979: 193. It has become Holmes's most enduring work. Holmes's friend and fellow writer

James Russell Lowell James Russell Lowell (; February 22, 1819 – August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the fireside poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets that r ...

believed the protagonist switch from "Autocrat" to "Professor" in the sequel was a good change, writing to Holmes, "I like the new Professor... better than the old Autocrat." But Lowell warned him about some of the theological commentary in the book: "The Religious Press... will be at you, but after smashing one of them you will be able to furnish yourself with a Sampson's weapon for the rest of the Philistines."

Image gallery

;Illustrations by

Augustus Hoppin Augustus Hoppin (1828–1896) was an American book illustrator, born in Providence, R. I. He graduated at Brown University in 1848 and was admitted to the bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholi ...

in 1858 edition (Phillips, Sampson Co.) Image:1858 schoolmistress byAugustusHoppin AutocratBreakfast byOWHolmes.png Image:1858 port byAugustusHoppin AutocratBreakfast byOWHolmes.png Image:1858 relation byAugustusHoppin AutocratBreakfast byOWHolmes.png Image:1858 Franklin byAugustusHoppin AutocratBreakfast byOWHolmes.png Image:1858 gentleman byAugustusHoppin AutocratBreakfast byOWHolmes.png Image:1858 fellow byAugustusHoppin AutocratBreakfast byOWHolmes.png Image:1858 daughter byAugustusHoppin AutocratBreakfast byOWHolmes.png Image:1858 deacon byAugustusHoppin AutocratBreakfast byOWHolmes.png

References

External links

Project Gutenberg edition of ''The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table''

Project Gutenberg edition of ''The Professor at the Breakfast Table''

Project Gutenberg edition of ''The Poet at the Breakfast Table''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Autocrat of the Breakfast Table, The 1858 essays Essay collections Works by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. Works originally published in The Atlantic (magazine) Works originally published in The New-England Magazine 1858 books