The following book is a collection of essays written by Augustine Birrell. The topics discussed in the books are greatly varied, from his opinion on John Milton, the Pope, Samuel Johnson's criticism of Shakespeare, and many others. Birrell, the author of this book, was a British Liberal Party politician, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916. In this post, he was praised for enabling tenant farmers to own their property, and for extending university education for Catholics. But he was criticized for failing to take action against the rebels before the Easter Rising, and resigned. A barrister by training, he was also an author, noted for humorous essays.
