Where the Muses Still Haunt - The Second Reading

Re-reading is one of life's joys, according to Anne Drury Hall, and it is essential to the endeavor to succeed at being human. She argues that great books were written by great men who achieved this status through their own labor and endurance and that the thrill of these books draws from one shared feature: the drama of choice. Hall's book is an important companion to the works treated therein, for teachers and students alike, and encourages taste and stamina for the works that promise to exhilarate.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 306 pages
Publication date: 22 September 2023
Publisher: St Augustine's Press

Re-reading is one of life's greatest joys, as Anne Drury Hall reminds us. It is not just a sweet reminder of memories or a way to feel like an old friend, but also an essential part of the quest to succeed as a human being. The allure of something familiar, steady, and reliable is a significant aspect of this experience, where the reader truly notices and connects with the world and themselves. This is why books are the cornerstone of education and the source of concentration power.

After leaving school and becoming lost in adulthood, can one return to these books and revive the quest to be great? For this is why we call such books great. However, as Hall points out, few people use the phrase "great books" anymore except ironically, as there is an odd view in the current intellectual fog that there is no such thing as greatness. She is compelled, then, to reexamine the so-called great books and make the case for their eternal importance. This task requires not only swimming against the disenchanted march of the post-modern reader into adulthood but also asserting the unthinkable––namely, that great books were written by great men who achieved this status through their own labor and endurance.

Hall reintroduces the reader to Plato, Homer, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, and Melville, hoping to expose the fraud of most contemporary literature and encourage a taste and stamina for the works that promise to exhilarate. And Hall argues well that the thrill of these books draws from one shared feature: the drama of choice. If Roger Scruton is famous for showing us that ideas have consequences, Hall provides the reader with the vision of themselves standing on the brink of a great choice.

In conclusion, re-reading is a vital part of life's journey, and Anne Drury Hall's book reminds us of the importance of returning to the great books of the past. These works were written by great men who achieved greatness through their own labor and endurance, and they offer us a glimpse into the depth of human experience. By re-reading these books, we can reconnect with our own humanity and strive to be great in our own lives.

Weight: 368g
Dimension: 151 x 229 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781587315398