If you’ve ever felt like the world is moving way too fast and everyone is just a little too obsessed with "productivity," you need to meet Charles Lamb. Specifically, you need to meet Elia. Honestly, Charles Lamb Essays of Elia might be the most relatable thing written in the 1820s. It’s not some stuffy academic textbook. It’s a guy sitting in a dusty London office, daydreaming about old china, roast pig, and the friends he’s lost.
He’s the original "relatable" blogger.
Lamb wrote these under a pseudonym—Elia—partly because he was a clerk at the South Sea House and didn’t want his bosses knowing he was a literary genius on the side. But there’s a darker reason, too. Lamb’s life was, frankly, a bit of a wreck. His sister Mary, whom he loved dearly, killed their mother during a mental health crisis. Charles spent the rest of his life looking after her. The Essays of Elia became his escape hatch. They are funny, weird, and sometimes heartbreakingly sad.
What People Get Wrong About Elia
Most people think 19th-century essays are just long-winded rants about philosophy. Wrong. Lamb doesn't care about "The Great Truths of the Universe." He cares about the way a specific street corner smells or why he hates being around "healthy" people when he’s feeling sick.
In The London Magazine, where these first appeared in 1820, readers were obsessed. Why? Because Lamb wasn’t lecturing them. He was talking to them. He pioneered the "personal essay." If you’ve ever read a Substack newsletter that felt like a warm hug and a punch in the gut at the same time, you’re reading a descendant of Elia.
Take "Dream-Children; A Reverie." It’s probably the most famous piece in the collection. He describes sitting by the fire, telling his two children, Alice and John, stories about their great-grandmother. It’s sweet. It’s domestic. Then, at the very end, the kids start to fade away. They aren’t real. Lamb never married; he never had kids. He’s just a lonely guy in a room imagining the life he could have had if things had gone differently. It’s devastating.
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The Quirky Side of the Collection
But it's not all gloom. Not even close. Lamb is hilarious.
"A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig" is literally just a several-page story about a boy in China who accidentally burns down his house and discovers that burnt pig tastes amazing. It’s absurd. It’s high-effort food blogging before cameras existed. Lamb spends an inordinate amount of time describing the crackling skin. He’s a foodie. He’s a nerd. He’s one of us.
Then there’s "New Year's Eve." Most people write about resolutions. Lamb writes about how much he hates the idea of dying and how he’d rather stay right here with his books and his tea, even if the world is a mess. He admits to being a "bundle of prejudices." He doesn't like music much. He hates "modern" gallantry. He’s the grumpy uncle you actually want to hang out with.
Why the Essays of Elia Matter in 2026
We live in a world of AI-generated junk and "hustle culture." Lamb is the antidote. He worked a 9-to-5 for 33 years. He called it his "day-school." He didn't find his identity in his job at the East India Company; he found it in the margins of his life.
When you read Charles Lamb Essays of Elia, you’re seeing a man fight to keep his humanity in a bureaucratic world. He loves the "London-fied" version of life. He loves the imperfections.
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Key Essays You Should Actually Read
- Christ’s Hospital Five and Thirty Years Ago: A look at his school days with Samuel Taylor Coleridge. It’s basically Dead Poets Society but with more 19th-century grit.
- The Superannuated Man: This is the ultimate "I just quit my job" essay. The feeling of walking out of an office for the last time hasn't changed in 200 years.
- Old China: A beautiful conversation with his sister (disguised as Bridget) about how they were actually happier when they were poor because every purchase—like a rare book or a piece of silk—meant something. Now that they have money, the magic is gone.
- Mrs. Battle's Opinions on Whist: If you’ve ever taken a board game too seriously, this is for you.
Lamb’s style is... tricky. He uses long sentences. He uses "antique" words like peradventure or quotha. But once you get the rhythm, it feels like listening to jazz. He loops back on his thoughts. He gets distracted. He’s human.
The Tragedy Behind the Humor
You can't talk about these essays without talking about the "Lamb family secret." For years, people just thought Charles was a bachelor who liked his sister’s company. In reality, he was her legal guardian to keep her out of the 19th-century asylum system, which was—to put it mildly—horrific.
So when he writes about "The South Sea House" or "The Praise of Chimney-Sweepers," he’s looking for beauty in places people usually ignore. He’s choosing to see the light because the dark was so incredibly heavy.
Experts like E.V. Lucas, who edited the definitive 1903 edition of Lamb’s works, point out that Elia is a "mask." By becoming Elia, Charles could be more honest than he could ever be as "Charles Lamb, the clerk." It gave him the freedom to be egotistical, whimsical, and vulnerable.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Reader
If you want to dive into Charles Lamb Essays of Elia, don't try to read it cover-to-cover like a novel. You’ll get bored. Instead:
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- Start with "Old China." It’s the most accessible and contains the most "truth" about how we value things.
- Read aloud. Lamb wrote for the ear. His sentences have a bounce to them that you miss if you’re just skimming for facts.
- Ignore the footnotes at first. You don't need to know every obscure 17th-century poet he references to understand the feeling of the essay.
- Look for the "Londonness." If you’ve ever felt a weird romantic attachment to a city, Lamb is your patron saint.
There's something deeply comforting about knowing that a guy two centuries ago was struggling with the same stuff we are: feeling unfulfilled at work, missing friends, and wondering if we’re spending our lives on the right things. Lamb didn't have the answers, but he wrote about the questions better than almost anyone else in history.
Grab a copy—preferably an old, beat-up one from a used bookstore—and spend an afternoon with Elia. It’s better than scrolling.
Next Steps for Deepening Your Knowledge
To truly appreciate the depth of Lamb’s work, track down a copy of the Letters of Charles Lamb. While the essays are polished gems, the letters are raw and show the man behind the mask. Pair your reading with a study of the "Romantic Circle"—specifically his relationships with William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge—to see how Lamb provided the "urban" heartbeat to a movement often obsessed with mountains and lakes. Finally, visit the site of the old East India House in London; though the building is gone, the bustling energy of the city he immortalized remains unchanged.