The Ornamental Hermit: People and Places of the New West

by Robert Davis and Robert Murray Davis

In eighteenth-century England, some wealthy people built ruins on their estates, hired hermits to inhabit them, and took guests to view the picturesque results. While no one hires ornamental hermits anymore, society as a whole supports people like Thoreau or Edward Abbey who step aside to comment on ordinary life as critics or would-be prophets yet who still get to head into town for a slice of Mrs. Emerson's pie or a shot or three at a Moab saloon--or,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0896725235
• ISBN13: 9780896725232
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
• Length: 197 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 9.2"