William Lyon Phelps

William Lyon Phelps
William Lyon Phelps (1865–1943) was a prominent American author, literary critic, and professor at Yale University. He was known for his wide-ranging knowledge of literature and his popular lectures, which often attracted large audiences. Phelps authored several books, including "Essays on Modern Novelists" and "Happiness," where he shared his thoughts on literature and life. He also maintained a regular column in newspapers and was admired for his optimistic and humanistic views on culture and education.

Author's Books:


DOSTOEVSKI THE life of Dostoevski contrasts harshly with the luxurious ease and steady level seen in the outward existence of his two great contemporaries, Turgenev and Tolstoi. From beginning to end he lived in the very heart of storms, in the midst of mortal coil. He was often as poor as a rat; he suffered from a horrible disease; he was sick and in prison, and no one visited him; he knew the... more...

THE MAN If we enter this world from some other state of existence, it seems certain that in the obscure pre-natal country, the power of free choice—so stormily debated by philosophers and theologians here—does not exist. Millions of earth's infants are handicapped at the start by having parents who lack health, money, brains, and character; and in many cases the environment is no better than... more...

CHAPTER I SOME CONTRASTS—HENLEY, THOMPSON, HARDY, KIPLING Meaning of the word "advance"—the present widespread interest in poetry—the spiritual warfare—Henley and Thompson—Thomas Hardy a prophet in literature—The Dynasts—his atheism—his lyrical power—Kipling the Victorian—his future possibilities—Robert Bridges—Robert W. Service. Although English poetry of the twentieth... more...