The essays in the collection first began appearing in The London Magazine in 1820 and continued to 1825. They were first published in book form in 1823, with a second volume, Last Essays of Elia, issued in 1833.
The following essays are included in the collection:
"The South-Sea House"
"Oxford In The Vacation"
"Christ's Hospital Five-And-Thirty Years Ago"
"The Two Races Of Men"
"New Year's Eve"
"Mrs Battle's Opinions On Whist"
"A Chapter On Ears"
"All Fools' Day"
"A Quakers' Meeting"
"The Old and The New Schoolmaster"
"Valentine's Day"
"Imperfect Sympathies"
"Witches And Other Night-Fears"
"My Relations"
"Mackery End, In Hertfordshire"
"Modern Gallantry"
"The Old Benchers Of The Inner Temple"
"Grace Before Meat"
"My First Play"
"Dream-Children; A Reverie"
"Distant Correspondents"
"The Praise Of Chimney-Sweepers"
"A Complaint Of The Decay Of Beggars In The Metropolis"
"A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig"
"A Bachelor's Complaint Of the Behaviour Of Married People"
"On Some Of The Old Actors"
"On The Artificial Comedy Of The Last Century"
"On The Acting Of Munden".
