I was re-reading Virginia Woolf’s lovely essay about Montaigne today and it occurred to me—this essay is in the public domain. So why not re-publish it here? So here is the full text of Woolf’s incredible distillation of Montaigne, perhaps the best I’ve read, but more important than that, it’s heartfelt thanks for the hope…

Although I enjoyed Stefan Zweig’s book on Michel de Montaigne, I have to admit that it’s the first Montaigne book I’ve read that taught me nothing, other than the ways Zweig thought he was similar to the essayist. Well, I was also reminded that Montaigne died on September 13, so solemn remembrances are in order…

I’ve just begun reading Stefan Zweig’s short book on Montaigne. For those unfamiliar with Zweig, he was an extraordinarily popular writer worldwide in the early 20th century for his novels, plays, biographies and literary criticism. He was born in Austria, but fled as Hitler’s power stretched across Europe, first to Great Britain, shortly to the…

Now that I’ve begun to make up for my error in never writing about Marie de Gournay, I’m fascinated by her and have dug into Phillipe Desan’s book for more information. This might be a good time to point out that I’ve had to put down Desan’s book a couple times because it is so…

I have noted in some recent essays and revisions the value of Terrence Cave’s book “How to Read Montaigne,” and I want to draw special attention to one unique way Cave analyzes the essays: Perhaps the best way is to read it as a work that seeks above all to devise cognitive strategies: strategies of…

I’ve written about Montaigne for 13 years without ever mentioning Marie Le Jars de Gournay. This is an oversight on my part, because Sarah Bakewell, whose book “How to Live” introduced me to Montaigne, devoted a full chapter to de Gournay. Where to even begin with Montaigne’s most devoted reader, friend, “adopted daughter,” editor and…