Biography of Charles Lamb, who was an English essayist with Welsh heritage, best known for his Essays of Elia and for the children's book Tales from Shakespeare, which he produced along with his sister, Mary Lamb. He and his sister both suffered periods of mental illness, and Charles spent six weeks in a psychiatric hospital during 1795. He was, however, already making his name as a poet. Despite his bouts of melancholia, both he and his sister enjoyed an active and rich social life.