A Visit to Vanity Fair

Alan Jacobs, professor of English at Wheaton College, has been a regular guest on the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal since 1993, discussing subjects ranging from the problem of literary sentimentalism (as in The Bridges of Madison County), and the delights of historical fiction (as in seafaring narratives of Patrick O’Brian) to the repulsive attraction of the vampire novels of Anne Rice. In his most recent book, A Visit to Vanity Fair: Moral Essays on the Present Age, Jacobs displays a similar range of breadth and depth, as well as significant portions of wit and grace. Included are essays on the mystery of true friendship (Friendship and Its Discontents), the severing of theology and literature (Preachers without Poetry), and the desire to know the future (Dowsing in Scripture).