Books and Habits from the lectures of Lafcadio Hearn

Originally published in 1922, this work is a collection of lectures given by the American author Lafcadio Hearn. He is best known for his works on Japan, most notably his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories. These lectures, however, are on the subject of western literature and we are republishing them with a brand new introductory biography of the author. The following passage is an extract from the editor of the transcripts, John Erskine: 'It should be remembered that these lectures were delivered to Japanese students, and that Hearn's purpose was not only to impart the information about Western literature usually to be found in our histories and text-books, but much more to explain to the Oriental mind those peculiarities of our civilization which might be hard to understand on the further side of the Pacific Ocean. The lectures are therefore unique, in that they are the first large attempt by a Western critic to interpret us to the East. That we shall be deeply concerned in the near future to continue this interpretation on an even larger scale, no one of us doubts. We wish we might hope for another genius like Hearn to carry on the work.'