Thomas Carlyle

John NicholProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 482K words
Chapters: 49

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Thomas Carlyle by John NicholAuthor: Nichol, John, 1833-1894,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Jan 1, 2006

Editor's review

Thomas Carlyle is a biography of Carlyle written by John Nichol, a free public-domain ebook from Project Gutenberg catalogued under English language and literature. Carlyle was a major nineteenth-century British essayist, historical writer and social critic, and this early biographical study is valuable for showing how late Victorian intellectual circles understood his character, writing and intellectual influence. It is short, written in English, and carries the rhetoric and judgments typical of nineteenth-century biography; it can serve both as a reference for the history of Carlyle's reception and as an introductory text for understanding the tradition of British literary criticism. Readers should note that the biographer has his own standpoint and that his assessment of Carlyle is not neutral; the book touches on Scottish backgrounds, German literary influences and Victorian social controversies, so readers without that background may need to look things up as they go. It is best treated as "one early voice on Carlyle" and read alongside Carlyle's own works and modern biographies.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English-speaking readers studying 19th-century English literature and intellectual history
Teachers and students needing early secondary literature on Carlyle
Readers interested in the style of Victorian biographical writing
Readers with some English proficiency willing to consult background materials

Not a good fit for

Beginners who know nothing of Carlyle and want a Chinese introduction first
Readers expecting the systematic scholarship and annotation of a modern academic biography
General readers who find English difficult and need light reading

Reading tips

Read one chapter first to grasp the biographer's basic judgments, then decide whether to read the whole book.
List Carlyle's major works and events as you read, so as not to be overwhelmed by names and period background.
Read selections of Carlyle's own works against this book's assessments, noting differences in the biographer's standpoint.
Use alongside a modern introduction to Carlyle studies to make up for the book's period limitations and lack of annotation

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Was this book written by Carlyle himself?

No. This is a biographical study of Thomas Carlyle written by John Nichol; Carlyle is the subject. The book discusses Carlyle's life and works, but the narrative and evaluation come from the biographer, carrying the perspective of late 19th-century British literary criticism; readers should distinguish it from Carlyle's own works.

Do I need to read Carlyle's works before this book?

You need not read them all first, but it helps to know the types and general content of several of Carlyle's major works. The book touches on his historical writing, social criticism, and prose style; if these are entirely unfamiliar, it is easy to mistake the biographer's summaries for the whole picture. It is advisable to first read a Chinese introduction to or excerpt from one work, then enter this book.

Is this biography's stance objective?

It cannot simply be called objective. It is one of the earlier biographies of Carlyle; the author has his own judgments and the limitations of his era, and his praise and blame of the subject reflect the tastes of late Victorian intellectual circles. It is suitable for observing how people of the time viewed Carlyle, rather than as a final verdict. Reading it alongside a modern academic biography makes the differences clearer.

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About the author

John Nichol Author · British · 1833–1894

John Nichol (1833–1894) was a British literary scholar and critic who served as Professor of English Literature at the University of Glasgow. He devoted himself to literary research and critical writing, and was especially known for his work on Byron, authoring a study of Byron that offered a systematic account of the poet's life and verse. He also wrote a volume on Thomas Carlyle, discussing Carlyle's thought and prose style. Two of his works are held in this collection, both belonging to the genres of author studies and literary criticism. Public information about his life is limited; his scholarly influence rests chiefly on his assessments of British Romantic and Victorian writers, and his writing is marked by clear exposition and a steady, judicious approach.