Great Men and Famous Women, Vol. 7: A series of pen and pencil sketches of the lives of more than 200 of the most prominent personages in History

In Short

This collection serves as a nineteenth-century chronicle of the world's most prominent literary figures, ranging from the ancient poets of Greece and Rome to the Victorian masters of the author's own era. By blending historical narrative with intimate anecdotes, the work highlights the human conditions behind legendary genius. It has remained a significant reference for students of literature because it treats these authors not as distant marble statues, but as men who contended with poverty, political exile, family duty, and the relentless, often grueling, demands of their craft.

The Story

The narrative arc of this volume traverses centuries, beginning with the foundational figures of antiquity. It paints the life of Virgil, who learned the trade of poetry amidst the instability of a Roman world reshaped by civil war and land confiscations. From these ancient roots, the focus shifts to the foundational voices of European literature, such as Dante and Petrarch, whose lives were defined by the restlessness of exile and the search for a permanent home. These early chapters establish a recurring theme: the artist’s struggle to reconcile his internal creative life with the external pressures of political and social instability.

As the account moves toward the Enlightenment and the modern era, the focus sharpens on the professionalization of the writer. We see Molière abandoning the legal profession to pursue the "infamous" path of the theater, and Robert Burns discovering his voice while weeding a kailyard, only to find his genius initially unrecognized by those closest to him. The narrative does not shy away from the darker or more erratic turns in these lives. It explores the psychological toll of fame and failure, detailing how Tasso wandered from court to court in a state of fragile health, and how Daniel Defoe spent his final years in a mysterious, fugitive retirement.

The latter half of the book concentrates on the dense, industrial pace of the nineteenth century. We encounter figures like Victor Hugo, whose political convictions were forged in the fires of revolution, and Charles Dickens, described as the hardest-working man of his age, whose life was a ceaseless cycle of writing, editing, and public performance. The arc concludes with the refined, sedentary academicism of American figures like Longfellow and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Throughout these accounts, the story is one of transition: from the poet as a solitary wanderer or court protégé to the author as a public institution, a businessman, or a social reformer. The final portraits emphasize the physical and emotional cost of such lives, noting the exhaustion of Dickens and the quiet, scholarly precision of Holmes, ultimately suggesting that while the forms of literature change, the fundamental devotion required of the artist remains a constant, often exhausting, burden.

How It Unfolds

The ancient foundation The volume opens with the classical world, tracing Virgil’s development from a student in Naples to a poet whose property was seized by soldiers during the Roman civil wars. This section grounds the reader in the idea that the greatest works often emerge from periods of personal and national displacement.

The shift toward individual struggle The narrative moves into the medieval and Renaissance periods, highlighting Petrarch’s upbringing and the tension between his father’s legal ambitions for him and his own inclination toward a quiet, observant life. Here, the struggle is internal, balancing filial piety with the pull of intellectual passion.

The professional rebellion The middle chapters document the lives of authors who defied their stations, such as Molière’s rejection of the law for the stage and Burns’s resolve to publish his verses despite his family’s poverty. These accounts illustrate the social risks inherent in choosing a life of letters.

The modern burden of fame The final sections shift to the nineteenth century, detailing the intense, multi-faceted lives of writers like Dickens and Hugo. The focus lands on the sheer volume of output and the public-facing nature of the modern author, whose personal health often suffered under the weight of their own productivity.

The People

The book features a vast cast, yet focuses on a few archetypal figures. Virgil serves as the prototype of the poet-farmer, whose sensitivity to nature is forged in the soil. Petrarch is depicted as the son of an exile, whose high religious feeling and physical strength were cultivated by a devoted mother. Tasso stands as the quintessential "wonderful and unfortunate" poet, whose brilliance was marred by his erratic health and the predatory nature of the courts he frequented. Molière represents the bold transgressor who exchanges a respectable legal career for the "degradation" of the theater, while Robert Burns is the humble ploughman whose genius is hidden from his own family until he resolves to make it "bear publishing." Finally, Charles Dickens is characterized by his relentless, almost superhuman energy, contrasting sharply with Oliver Wendell Holmes, whose life is portrayed as a model of disciplined, sparkling urbanity.

In Its Own Voice

"It is indeed Pegasus in harness."

This description captures the frustration Goethe felt while working in a bureaucratic "circumlocution office" where his creative spirit was stifled by administrative drudgery.

"The nation was spellbound; and a majority of its population neither could nor would be disenchanted."

The author explains why John Milton faced an uphill battle when trying to argue against the public's deep, sentimental devotion to the memory of King Charles I.

"Whatever I study I ought to engage in with all my soul, for I will be eminent in something."

This early declaration by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow illustrates the ambitious, focused temperament that would eventually lead him to international literary success.

What It's Really About

Underneath the biographical data, the book argues that literature is an act of persistent survival. It examines the tension between the author’s private, internal life—often filled with loneliness, health struggles, and deep sensitivity—and the public, often chaotic world that demands their labor and attention. The central question is how an individual manages to distill the "murmur of the stream" or the "song of the nightingale" into a lasting legacy while caught in the machinery of politics, poverty, or social expectation. It suggests that while the historical context shifts, the artist is always an outsider, defined by an "elective affinity" for their work that often necessitates a sacrifice of peace, security, or even reputation.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy the slow, deliberate pace of nineteenth-century prose will find this a comforting and informative companion. It is written with a sense of Victorian moral weight, treating the lives of these writers as essential lessons in character. If you are curious about the origins of famous works or want to see the human, often messy realities behind the literary canon, you will find these sketches deeply humanizing.

Be aware, however, that the book reflects its 1894 origins; it carries the period's specific, sometimes rigid, attitudes toward social class and "proper" behavior. Some of the language is formal, and the author occasionally assumes a level of classical knowledge that might feel demanding to a modern reader. Despite this, the experience of reading it is akin to visiting a well-organized, dimly lit library where every portrait on the wall has a story to tell. It reminds us that behind every masterpiece is a person who had to wake up, find a desk, and contend with the daily frustrations of being human. What stays with you is not just the list of achievements, but the recurring image of the writer—whether in a garden, a court, or a study—trying to make sense of the world through the quiet, stubborn application of their art.