Samuel Butler

Title: The Genuine Poetical Remains of Samuel Butler. With notes by Robert Thyer ... With a selection from the author's Characters in prose. Illustrated with humorous wood-cuts, and portraits of Butler and Thyer. L. P. Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC. The POETRY & DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging from Bardic poetry to Victorian verse. Containing many classic works from important dramatists and poets, this collection has something for every lover of the stage and verse. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Butler, Samuel; Thyer, Robert; 1827. 301 p.; fol. 11609.l.1.

'I am the enfant terrible of literature and science. If I cannot, and I know I cannot, get the literary and scientific big-wigs to give me a shilling, I can, and I know I can, heave bricks into the middle of them.' With The Way of All Flesh, Samuel Butler threw a subversive brick at the smug face of Victorian domesticity. Published in 1903, a year after Butler's death, the novel is a thinly disguised account of his own childhood and youth 'in the bosom of a Christian family'. With irony, wit and sometimes rancour, he savaged contemporary values and beliefs, turning inside-out the conventional novel of a family's life through several generations.

The Way of All Flesh is one of the time-bombs of literature," said V. S. Pritchett. "One thinks of it lying in Samuel Butler's desk for thirty years, waiting to blow up the Victorian family and with it the whole great pillared and balustraded edifice of the Victorian novel." Written between 1873 and 1884 but not published until 1903, a year after Butler's death, his marvelously uninhibited satire savages Victorian bourgeois values as personified by multiple generations of the Pontifex family. A thinly veiled account of his own upbringing in the bosom of a God-fearing Christian family, Butler's scathingly funny depiction of the self-righteous hypocrisy underlying nineteenth-century domestic life was hailed by George Bernard Shaw as "one of the summits of human achievement." "If the house caught on fire, the Victorian novel I would rescue from the flames would be The Way of All Flesh," wrote William Maxwell in The New Yorker. "It is read, I believe, mostly by the young, bent on making out a case against their elders, but Butler was fifty when he stopped working on it, and no reader much under that age is likely to appreciate the full beauty of its horrors. . . . Every contemporary novelist with a developed sense of irony is probably in some measure, directly or indirectly, indebted to Butler, who had the misfortune to be a twentieth-century man born in the year 1835."

Samuel Butler's "The Way of All Flesh" offers a compelling glimpse into Victorian era family life. This domestic novel presents a multi-generational family saga, exploring themes of social criticism and the complexities of coming of age within the constraints of middle-class society. As a work of literary fiction, it dissects the expectations and realities of familial relationships. Butler's narrative provides insight into the biographical experience of navigating family dynamics. The story examines the triumphs and tribulations inherent in the family life of a bygone era. Readers interested in historical fiction and depictions of societal norms will find "The Way of All Flesh" a captivating read. It remains a relevant portrayal of enduring human experiences. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Journey into the moral and societal complexities of the late 19th century through Samuel Butler's "The Way of All Flesh." This timeless novel explores the life of Ernest Pontifex, a young man grappling with the rigid conventions of Victorian England. In a world where tradition and expectations reign supreme, Ernest's journey of self-discovery and rebellion challenges the very foundations of society. Butler's incisive critique of the era's moral hypocrisy and the oppressive influence of family and religion remains as relevant today as it was when first published. Through Ernest's trials and tribulations, the novel delves into themes of personal freedom, the clash of generations, and the struggle for authenticity." The Way of All Flesh" invites readers to reflect on their own place within the social framework and question the enduring values that shape our lives. A timeless exploration of individuality and societal constraints, this novel continues to resonate, offering profound insights into the human condition.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.