Other editions of book Headlong Hall

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Headlong Hall was an instant success upon its anonymous first appearance in 1816. Like most of Peacock's novels, it assembles a group of characters — Mr Cranium, Miss Poppyseed, Mr Treacle and others — who, while eating and drinking to abandon, discuss topics which were then of interest to Peacock and his circle of intellectual friends. Some of the figures are thinly-disgused portraits of contemporaries (Mr Escot, for example, is widely thought to be modelled on Shelley); others embody current views of the age, and are held up to scorn. There is a minimum of plot, but much discussion in a unique and lively style, and with burlesque Rabelaisan humour; throughout, Peacock uses the work to parody contemporary thinking in a variety of disparate areas, including utilitarianism, vegetarianism, aesthetics, music, poetry, art criticism, and so on. In the meantime there is dancing and drinking and falling in love. This edition contains an introduction by America's master of science fantasy, RAY BRADBURY, who adds his own special touch to this feast of ideas and language.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.

Unlike other Welsh squires, the current scion of the ancient and dignified house of Headlong-ap-Headlong, Harry Headlong, Esquire, had actually suffered certain phenomena, called books, to find their way into his house; and, by dint of lounging over them after dinner, became seized with a violent passion to be thought a philosopher and a man of taste. Accordingly, he invited numerous philosophers and poetasters the a feast; and four of the chosen guests had, from different parts of the metropolis, ensconced themselves in the four corners of the Holyhead mail. And a Very Holy Christmas it was to be, indeed.

Unlike other Welsh squires, the current scion of the ancient and dignified house of Headlong-ap-Headlong, Harry Headlong, Esquire, had actually suffered certain phenomena, called books, to find their way into his house and, by dint of lounging over them after dinner, became seized with a violent passion to be thought a philosopher and a man of taste. Accordingly, he invited numerous philosophers and poetasters the a feast; and four of the chosen guests had, from different parts of the metropolis, ensconced themselves in the four corners of the Holyhead mail. And a Very Holy Christmas it was to be, indeed. . . .

THE ambiguous light of a December morning, peeping throughthe windows of the Holyhead mail, dispelled the soft visions ofthe four insides, who had slept, or seemed to sleep, through thefirst seventy miles of the road, with as much comfort as may besupposed consistent with the jolting of the vehicle, and anoccasional admonition to remember the coachman, thunderedthrough the open door, accompanied by the gentle breath ofBoreas, into the ears of the drowsy traveller.A lively remark, that the day was none of the finest, havingelicited a repartee of quite the contrary, the various knottypoints of meteorology, which usually form the exordium of anEnglish conversation, were successively discussed andexhausted; and, the ice being thus broken, the colloquy rambledto other topics, in the course of which it appeared, to the surpriseof every one, that all four, though perfect strangers to each other,were actually bound to the same point, namely, Headlong Hall,the seat of the ancient and honourable family of the Headlongs,of the vale of Llanberris, in Caernarvonshire. This name mayappear at first sight not to be truly Cambrian, like those of theRices, and Prices, and Morgans, and Owens, and Williamses,and Evanses, and Parrys, and Joneses; but, nevertheless, theHeadlongs claim to be not less genuine derivatives from theantique branch of Cadwallader than any of the last namedmultiramified families. They claim, indeed, by one account,superior antiquity to all of them, and even to Cadwallader 3himself, a tradition having been handed down in Headlong Hallfor some few thousand years, that the founder of the family waspreserved in the deluge on the summit of Snowdon, and took thename of Rhaiader, which signifies a waterfall, in consequence ofhis having accompanied the water in its descent or diminution,till he found himself comfortably seated on the rocks ofLlanberris. But, in later days, when commercial bagmen beganto scour the country, the ambiguity of the sound induced hisdescendants to drop the suspicious denomination of Riders, andtranslate the word into English; when, not being well pleasedwith the sound of the thing, they substituted that of the quality,and accordingly adopted the name Headlong, the appropriateepithet of waterfall.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.