Anecdotes and the insights gained through study combine to probe the philosophical thought of children and the ways children blend reasoning and curiosity to deal with problems concerning knowledge, value, and existence.

In The Young Philosopher, George Delmont embraces an agrarian life and devotes himself to the pursuit of knowledge. But it is George's love Medora Glenmorris and her mother Laura who provide the emotional core of the novel. Contrasting the pain and suffering of individuals with the idealism of the French Revolution and the hope provided by glimpses of life in America, Smith exposes philosophical enlightenment as an ineffective weapon for fighting the widespread corruption of English society. The early novels of Charlotte Smith (1749-1806) were precursors of the gothic tradition that came to dominate the Romantic period. Her later fiction, including The Young Philosopher (1798), were more political in nature and influenced both the form and substance of works by nineteenth-century novelists such as Austen and Dickens.

Inspired from 'Letters to a Young Poet' by Rainer Maria Rilke, this work is in the form of letters from an old philosopher to a young student, guiding, instructing, and passing on wisdom gathered from the experiences of life. They cover a comprehensive introduction to philosophy, wisdom, and the art of thinking, as well as discuss a range of themes and issues such as love, education, friendship, violence, ignorance, mediocrity, and happiness.

Which philosopher threw himself head first into a volcano to prove he was a god? Who formed a secret society and banned its members from eating beans? Is it true that one philosopher operated on his friend's liver and fitted it with a silver tap? Which philosopher insisted that his students sit in deckchairs? Why did another have to have a special niche cut into his table? Who was cut to pieces by sharpened seashells?