English Traits was published first in 1856 and is different from the rest of Emerson's works in that rather than concerning the inner life and Emerson's major themes of self-recovery and self-reliance, the book is about a country and its people. It praises England and its people while also pointing out limitations and failures. He admires the English most of all for their common sense. As he wrote, "An Englishman must be treated with sincerity and reality; with muffins and not the promise of muffins."