Author
Alexander Smith
1829-1867
Alexander Smith (1829-1867) is a public-domain author available on Rivro. Read free books, explore subjects, and discover related classics.
WikipediaBooks by Alexander Smith
Poems
"Poems" by Alexander Smith is a collection of poetry likely written in the mid-19th century. This work encompasses reflections on beauty, love, ambition, and the struggles of the human soul, exploring emotions through rich imagery and evocative language. The poems delve into the longing for artistic expression and the burden of unfulfilled aspirations, presenting a poignant portrait of the poet’s internal conflict. The opening of the collection presents an evocative scene featuring a character named Walter, who is deeply engaged in his thoughts and emotions. He wrestles with the intensity of his passion for poetry, expressing feelings of ambition and despair in his search for recognition and love. The narrative then introduces a lady who embodies an idealized love, provoking Walter's musings on the nature of beauty and connection. Their dialogue reveals Walter's struggles with his aspirations as he seeks solace and meaning in poetry while grappling with the notion of love that eludes him. The rich dialogue sets the stage for a turbulent exploration of the themes that will unfold throughout the collection.
Dreamthorp : $b A book of essays written in the country
"Dreamthorp: A Book of Essays Written in the Country" by Alexander Smith is a collection of reflective essays written in the early 20th century. The book offers a contemplative look at life in a quaint English village, as seen through the eyes of a thoughtful narrator who has chosen to make Dreamthorp his home. The text delves into themes of nature, community, mortality, and the passage of time, inviting readers to ponder the beauty and simplicity of rural life. The opening of the book introduces us to the narrator's deep affection for Dreamthorp, describing its serene landscape, the comforting rhythm of village life, and the poignant presence of history woven into its fabric. The narrator reflects on their journey to this place, revealing a preference for its unhurried atmosphere compared to other towns and villages. They describe vivid scenes weighted with nostalgia, observe the interplay between life and death, and express a profound connection to the natural world around them, leading to contemplations on love and existence. Through rich descriptions and meditative prose, the beginning sets the stage for a deeper exploration of life's simplicities and complexities that the essays will continue to unfold.
A summer in Skye, Volume 1 (of 2)
"A summer in Skye, Volume 1 (of 2)" by Alexander Smith is a travelogue and reflective essay collection written in the mid-19th century. It traces a summer journey from Edinburgh through the Highlands and western lochs to the Isle of Skye, blending vivid nature writing with history, art, and social observation. Readers can expect lyrical landscapes, portraits of towns and people, and opinionated meditations on Scottish identity and culture. The beginning of the book sets the narrator in heat-stricken Edinburgh, longing for escape and praising the restorative idleness of the Highlands while advocating light, simple travel. He sketches an expansive portrait of the city—its literature and critics, Scott’s outsized legacy, show-stopping beauty by day and night, the grandeur and squalor of the Old Town, intellectual pretensions (with barbed shots at Jeffrey), and the seasonal rhythms of art exhibitions and the General Assembly’s pageantry. The tone is essayistic and digressive, moving from civic pride and social satire to the spiritual spell of the past that saturates Edinburgh’s streets. The journey then unfolds: Stirling’s views and the Wallace Monument spark reflections on nationality; Doune and its castle; Callander, the Pass of Leny, Loch Achray, and the Trosachs to Loch Katrine; on to Inversneyd and Loch Lomond, the “Cobbler,” and the steep solitude of Glencroe; St Catherine’s and a humorous coachman; Inverary and Duniquoich; Loch Awe, Kilchurn Castle, and Ben Cruachan; and the bustle and rain of Oban. A swift run up the Caledonian route brings Fort William (with a visit to the famed distiller “Long John”), Loch Ness, and Inverness, capped by a sunset reverie on Culloden Moor. Finally, arrangements are made to reach Skye, and the section closes with a miserable pre-dawn coach ride to Dingwall.
A summer in Skye, Volume 2 (of 2)
"A summer in Skye, Volume 2 (of 2)" by Alexander Smith is a travelogue written in the mid-19th century. It traces a reflective journey across the Isle of Skye, blending lyrical landscape description with portraits of island life, customs, and class relations among lairds, tacksmen, cotters, and fishermen. The narrator dwells on place, memory, and change, moving between scenic wonder and social observation. The opening of this volume immerses the reader in Skye’s antiquated atmosphere, then sketches the paternal, clanlike household of Mr M’Ian—a tacksman who keeps rent-free cotters, dispenses porch‑door justice, and binds the community through old obligations—before contrasting him with “the Landlord,” a wealthy, India-hardened reformer who manages tenants directly, runs a “penal” crofting scheme on reclaimed “black land,” and oversees a plain but purposeful school. A storm and flood frame the narrator’s departure, leading to a vivid, stage-by-stage journey—Isle Oronsay, Broadford, Sconser, Sligachan, Portree, Skeabost’s island graveyard—with a robust defense of the smoky Highland hut against urban misery. At the Landlord’s, we see affectionate chaos of pets, Gaelic deputations, village visits, levées at turf walls, and the schoolroom’s earnest geography and sums, all revealing a strict yet benevolent social experiment. The section closes with a drive toward Dunvegan via Orbost: legends at the Fairy Bridge, clan feuds (Trompon and Eigg), the sight of Macleod’s Tables and Maidens, an incongruously modern house set in a haunting coastal landscape, and ruins that echo the clan’s dwindling grandeur.