Charles Lamb

Charles Lamb (1775–1834) was an English essayist and critic. Born in the Inner Temple and educated at Christ's Hospital, where he formed a lifelong friendship with Coleridge, he spent thirty-three years as a clerk at East India House. In 1796 his sister Mary killed their mother in a fit of madness, and Lamb took charge of her for the rest of his life; together they wrote the Tales from Shakespeare for children. His Specimens of English Dramatic Poets revived interest in the Elizabethans, and the Essays of Elia, written for the London Magazine from 1820, made him the most loved of English essayists. His letters are nearly as prized.