Over a thousand years of memoirs, reminiscences, and letters are represented in this collection of almost 500 literary anecdotes. Here we encounter those famous for their wit and eccentricity, such as Johnson, Scott, Wilde, Shaw, and Henry James, as well as a host of minor writers with revealing tales to tell of their celebrated contemporaries. This book is intended for collectors of anthologies and lovers of literature; browsers and dippers; buyers of gifts.