Lord Chesterfield's Letters
By Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Categories: Literature & Fiction
Philip Dormer Stanhope, the fourth Earl of Chesterfield, wrote hundreds of letters to his son, Philip Stanhope, over about thirty years beginning in the late 1730s. They were published after the earl's death, in 1774. Chesterfield offers advice on manners, conversation, reading, history, languages, politics and how to succeed in society. The letters were widely read as a guide to polished behavior and drew criticism from Samuel Johnson and others for their worldly, calculating view of human relations.