Thomas Carlyle

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Thomas Carlyle was a major figure in Victorian literature and a unique commentator on nineteenth-century life. Born in humble circumstances in the Scottish village of Ecclefechan in 1795, his rise to fame was marked by fierce determination and the development of a highly distinctive literary voice. In this clear, authoritative and readable biography, John Morrow traces Carlyle's personal and intellectual career. Wide-ranging, prophetic and invariably challenging, his work ranged from the astonishing pseudo-autobiography Sartor Resartus to major historical works on the French Revolution and Frederick the Great, and to radical political manifestos such as Latter Day Pamphlets. Thomas Carlyle is an account of his work and of his life, including celebrity as the Sage of Chelsea and his tempestuous marriage to Jane Welsh Carlyle.

Reviews

'In Thomas Carlyle John Morrow tracks Carlyle's intellectual career, from Sartor Resartus to historical studies of Frederick the Great and The French Revolution, and on to his fanatic political manifestos such as Latter Day Pamphlets, as well as Carlyle's personal life, including his fame as the Sage of Chelsea and his marriage to Jane. In the eight chapters of this succinct biography Morrow draws on the Collected Letters, as well as other primary and secondary sources as context for Carlyle's ideas.' - The Year's Work in English Studies, vol 87 (2008)
'Writing cost Carlyle a lifetime of troubles, but John Morrow takes the trouble to make his coherence and consequence rewardingly evident.' ~ Francis O'Gorman, Times Literary Supplement, 2007 -- Francis O'Gorman * Times Literary Supplement *

Author Bio

John Morrow is Professor of Political Studies and Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.