Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881)
Author of The French Revolution: A History
About the Author
Thomas Carlyle was a social critic and historian born in Ecclefechan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, December 4, 1795, the same year as John Keats, but Carlyle is considered an early Victorian rather than a Romantic. After completing his elementary studies, he went to the University of Edinburgh but left show more in 1814 without a degree. His parents wanted him to become a minister in the Scottish church, but his independence of spirit made such a life program impossible. In 1816 he fell in love with, and was rejected by, a young woman. His love affair was followed by a period of doubt and uncertainty described vividly in Sartor Resartus, a work published in 1833 that attracted much attention. Carlyle's first literary work reveals his admiration for German thought and philosophy, and especially for the two great German poets Schiller and Goethe. The fictional autobiography of a philosopher deeply impressed Ralph Waldo Emerson who brought it back to the United States to be published there. History of the French Revolution (1837), rewritten after parts of it were mistakenly burned as kindling by John Stuart Mill, cemented Carlyle's reputation. The work brought him fame but no great wealth. As a result of his comparative poverty he was induced to give four series of public lectures. Of these the most famous were those On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic of History delivered in 1840 and published in 1841. Past and Present (1843), and Latter Day Pamphlets (1850) present his economic and industrial theories. With The Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell (1845), The Life of John Sterling (1851), and History of Frederick II of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great (1858-1865) he returned to biography. In 1865, Carlyle was made Lord Rector of Edinburgh. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
1) CK Above
2) Erik Bruun actually wrote Test Your History IQ
Smelfungus is a name given by Laurence Sterne to Tobias Smollett as author of a volume of Travels through France and Italy, for the snarling abuse he heaps on the institutions and customs of the countries he visited.
In the 19th century it was adopted by Thomas Carlyle as a pen-name when he had any seriously severe criticisms to offer on things, particularly those that have gone or are going to the bad. Patrick Proctor Alexander also used the name in his book Mill and Carlyle, which contrasted Carlyle's views with those of John Stuart Mill. Proctor's Occasional Discourse on Sauertieg by Smelfungus attacks Carlyle's more brutal ideas.
Image credit: Helmolt, H.F., ed. History of the World. New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1902.
Series
Works by Thomas Carlyle
Autobiography; Essay on Liberty; Characteristics; Inaugural Address; Essay on Scott (1909) — Contributor — 215 copies
Carlyle's Essay on Burns: With the Cotter's Saturday Night and Other Poems from Burns (1909) 21 copies
Essays on Goethe 9 copies
Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, with Elucidations by Thomas Carlyle: Volume 2 (1845) 7 copies
Historical Essays (The Norman and Charlotte Strouse Edition of the Writings of Thomas Carlyle) (2002) 6 copies
History of Friedrich II of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great in eight volumes, Volume II (part of) The Centenary… (1859) 4 copies
Historical Sketches of Notable Persons and Events in the Reigns of James I. and Charles I (1898) 4 copies
German Romance, Translations from the German with biographical and critical notices in two volumes, II, Hoffmann,… (1898) 3 copies
Carlyle's Works. History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, called Frederick the Great, Volume VII. (2010) 3 copies
Lavora non disperarti 3 copies
Carlyle's Works. History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, called Frederick the Great, Volume IV. (2006) 3 copies
Inaugural Address at Edinburgh 3 copies
The Works of Thomas Carlyle History of Friedrich the Second Called Frederick the Great Volume Two (1897) 3 copies
Collected Works of (Illustrated) 3 copies
Carlyle's Works. History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, called Frederick the Great, Volume V. (2010) 3 copies
The Carlyle anthology 3 copies
History Friedrich II. Of Prussia, Vol. 6 of 10: Frederick the Great (Classic Reprint) (2010) 3 copies
Critical And Miscellaneous Essays Collected and Republished (First Time, 1839; Final, 1869) Volume III of IV (1888) 2 copies
Selections from Carlyle 2 copies
History of Frederick the Great of Prussia, called Frederick the Great in eight volumes, Volume VIII: The Centenary… (1864) 2 copies
Oliver Cromwell's Letters And Speeches with Elucidations By Thomas Carlyle (Everyman 266, 267, 268) (1926) 2 copies
Essays on Burns & Scott 2 copies
Sir Walter Scott 2 copies
CRITICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS : THE EARLY KINGS OF NORWAY ETC. : EIGHT VOLUMES IN THREE, VOLUME III (1903) 2 copies
Dante e Shakespeare 2 copies
Wilhelm Meister (3 vols.) 2 copies
On Heroes 2 copies
Miscellaneous Essays 2 copies
Essays on Literature (Volume 5) (The Norman and Charlotte Strouse Edition of the Writings of Thomas Carlyle) (2020) 2 copies
Muhammad The Hero as Prophet 1 copy
Complete Works of Thomas Carlyle, The (Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches with Elucidations vol. 3, The life of… (1906) 1 copy
The Works of Thomas Carlyle in Thirty Volumes, Vol. V: Heroes and Hero-Worship, in One Volumes (2016) 1 copy
The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle: Vol. 4: 1826-28 (Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh… (1970) 1 copy
Carlyle 1 copy
Tre i Norge ved to av dem 1 copy
Den franske revolution 1 copy
"The Sacredness Of Work" 1 copy
Biografía 1 copy
The French Rvolution vol 2-3 1 copy
Pagine scelte 1 copy
El Dictador de Francia 1 copy
Reminiscences , Vol I 1 copy
Reminiscences , Vol II 1 copy
Essays on Politics and Society (Volume 6) (The Norman and Charlotte Strouse Edition of the Writings of Thomas Carlyle) (2022) 1 copy
On the Choice of Books (Dodo Press): Classic Work Which Began As An Address To Students Of Edinburgh University, By The… (2007) 1 copy
Carlyle’s Works - 6 Volumes 1 copy
French Revolution Vol. III 1 copy
The Works of Thomas Carlyle (Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches with Elucidations (Volume 7)) 1 copy
Autobiography 1 copy
2: The Works of Thomas Carlyle (Cambridge Library Collection - The Works of Carlyle) (Volume 2) (2010) 1 copy
History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia - Frederick The Great-Complete Table of Contents: 22 Volumes (2010) 1 copy
Thomas Carlyle's Works (Popular Edition): Frederick the Great I-IV, VII; Past and Present; Sartor Resartus; Heroes… (1861) 1 copy
Essays on Burns, Scott and Johnson. Edited with marginalia and notes by Henry Williams (Temple Classics.) (1904) 1 copy
Carlyle's Works. Last Words. 1 copy
The Works of Thomas Carlyle in Thirty Volumes (Centenary Edition): Vol. XXIX - Critical and Miscellaneous Essays IV… (1899) 1 copy
Oliver Cromwell's letters and Speeches with Elucidations Vol. II, Life of Friedrich Schiller, Including a General… (1885) 1 copy
Essays on German literature 1 copy
John Knox 1 copy
Goethe's Faust 1 copy
Carlyle's Choice Works 1 copy
THE WORKS OF THOMAS CARLYLE " Sartor Resartus, Past and Present, the Diamond Necklass Mirabeau" (1885) 1 copy
The Works of Thomas Carlyle, History of Friedrich the Second Called Frederick the Great (Volume 5) 1 copy
Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Thomas Carlyle: With personal reminiscences and selections from his private letters… (2001) 1 copy
The reign of terror 1 copy
Jesuitism 1 copy
Critical and Miscellaneous Essays : Collected and Republished : In Four Volumes, Vol. II (1890) 1 copy
History of Friedrich II. of Prussia: Called Frederick the Great, Volumes 4-5 - Primary Source Edition (2013) 1 copy
The Life of Samuel Johnson 1 copy
History of Fredrich II of Prussia, called Frederrick the Great in 10 volumes (incomplete set) 1 copy
Selections 1 copy
Carlyle, part one 1 copy
The Pocket Carlyle 1 copy
Two Great Works Complete Sartor Resartus and Heroes and Hero Worship Plus Three Other Major Essays 1 copy
The letters and speeches of Oliver Cromwell, with elucidations by Thomas Carlyle; ed. in three volumes, with notes,… (2012) 1 copy
Oliver Cromwell I-II 1 copy
Frederick the Great Vol 1 1 copy
Bohaterowie : cześć dla bohaterów i pierwiastek bohaterstwa w historii : Odyn, Mahomet, Dante, Szekspir, Luter,… (2006) 1 copy
German Romance : Specimens of its Chief Authors, with Biographical and Critical Notices (Vol IV) 1 copy
THOMAS CARLYLE: SELECTIONS 1 copy
Heroes past and present 1 copy
Frederick The Great V-VI 1 copy
Frederick The Great III-IV 1 copy
Frederick The Great I-II 1 copy
Worte [Thomas] Carlyles 1 copy
Essays (Everyman's Library) 1 copy
Associated Works
Voices of the Industrial Revolution: Selected Readings from the Liberal Economists and Their Critics (1961) — Contributor — 42 copies
Out of the Best Books: An Anthology of Literature, Vol. 2: Love, Marriage, and the Family (1966) — Contributor — 38 copies
Grolier Classics: Les Miserables, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, French Revolution, Divine Comedy (1955) 15 copies
Oogst der tijden : keur uit de werken van schrijvers en dichters aller volken en eeuwen (1940) — Contributor — 10 copies
Goethes Werke ; Bd. 27 = Abth. 1, Bd. 24 ; [Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre, 1. Theil] — Translator, some editions — 3 copies
Stories by Musaus and Fouque (Studies in German Literature, Linguistics, and Culture) (Vol 1) (1991) — Translator, some editions — 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1795-12-04
- Date of death
- 1881-02-05
- Burial location
- Ecclefechan, Dumfriesshire, Scotland
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Ecclefechan, Scotland, UK
- Place of death
- Chelsea, London, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Annan, Scotland
Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, UK
Craigenputtock, Dumfriesshire, Scotland
London, England, UK - Education
- Annan Academy
University of Edinburgh - Occupations
- rector
translator
essayist
historian
philosopher - Relationships
- Carlyle, Jane Welsh (wife)
- Disambiguation notice
- 1) CK Above
2) Erik Bruun actually wrote Test Your History IQ
Smelfungus is a name given by Laurence Sterne to Tobias Smollett as author of a volume of Travels through France and Italy, for the snarling abuse he heaps on the institutions and customs of the countries he visited.
In the 19th century it was adopted by Thomas Carlyle as a pen-name when he had any seriously severe criticisms to offer on things, particularly those that have gone or are going to the bad. Patrick Proctor Alexander also used the name in his book Mill and Carlyle, which contrasted Carlyle's views with those of John Stuart Mill. Proctor's Occasional Discourse on Sauertieg by Smelfungus attacks Carlyle's more brutal ideas.
Members
Reviews
The French Revolution A History Vol. I & Vol. Ii by Thomas Carlyle
Condition: Very Good. 1889. Hardback. 2 vols completing the French Revolution series by Carlyle. Fine in very good half leather over marbled boards, with marbled gold page edges. Covers worn at spine, but remain very good. Vol I-II.
Epopeya histórica, más que historia, de Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), publicada en 1837. El gran escritor inglés da en esta célebre obra una visión de los hechos típicamente epicodramática: relieve estereoscópico de fuerzas espirituales ocultas que afloran por simpatía bajo la penetrante mirada intuitiva del investigador de héroes y fuerzas heroicas, mal disimuladas por la apocalíptica violencia de los acontecimientos. De este procedimiento suyo, por cuadros ricos de color, de movimiento, erizados de sentencias, de epigramas que se resuelven en imágenes fulgurantes, Carlyle da ya memorables ejemplos en los primeros capítulos de su obra.
La obra, con sus defectos y sus parcialidades, como con sus geniales iluminaciones, con su ritmo épico, de la narración, como con su característica interpretación de la Historia pasada en función de los problemas presentes, queda como el monumento tal vez más notable de la historiografía romántica europea.… (more)
La obra, con sus defectos y sus parcialidades, como con sus geniales iluminaciones, con su ritmo épico, de la narración, como con su característica interpretación de la Historia pasada en función de los problemas presentes, queda como el monumento tal vez más notable de la historiografía romántica europea.… (more)
I wasn't sure it would ever happen, but I finished Carlyle's French Revolution.
It’s tough going! Carlyle’s style is poetic, a little bit archaic, and very much idiosyncratic. The author introduces important historical figures without pausing to explain who these characters are, where they are from, or what their significance to events will be. Often people and places will be referred to interchangeably by several different names. The cadance of the text is often more akin to speech than clear-headed literature. Throw in a bunch of (sometimes untranslated) French, Latin, and Greek expressions and the result can only be confusion and bewilderment. Prudent readers will go into this book having already acquired at least some knowledge of the events it describes, else risk being irrecoverably lost. Those looking for an informative and authoritative account of the Revolution might be better served by a modern work such as Schama’s Citizens.
All that said, Carlyle’s epic of history does have its merits. Firstly, there’s something captivating in its prose, which has the quality of epic poetry mixed with thumping energy. Secondly, Carlyle has an uncanny knack for making the reader feel like they are a face peering out of the crowed watching events unfold, rather than the more sterile role of omnipotent observer in which more modern and academic histories tend to cast their reader. In the climatic chapters that detail key world-changing events (the execution of Louis XVI or Marie Antoinette, Corday’s killing of Marat, the flight to Varennes) the book is positively thrilling. Overall, then, this is an interesting book, but one to read more as a piece of literature than as an accessible historical reference. In light of this, I’d urge potential readers to peruse at least a couple of chapters (they’re short) of the eBook at Project Gutenberg to figure out if this is likely to be a work they will enjoy before taking the plunge on an expensive fine press copy.
I wrote a bit more about this book and the specific LEC edition that I read on my book blog https://ubiquitousbooks.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/the-french-revolution/… (more)
It’s tough going! Carlyle’s style is poetic, a little bit archaic, and very much idiosyncratic. The author introduces important historical figures without pausing to explain who these characters are, where they are from, or what their significance to events will be. Often people and places will be referred to interchangeably by several different names. The cadance of the text is often more akin to speech than clear-headed literature. Throw in a bunch of (sometimes untranslated) French, Latin, and Greek expressions and the result can only be confusion and bewilderment. Prudent readers will go into this book having already acquired at least some knowledge of the events it describes, else risk being irrecoverably lost. Those looking for an informative and authoritative account of the Revolution might be better served by a modern work such as Schama’s Citizens.
All that said, Carlyle’s epic of history does have its merits. Firstly, there’s something captivating in its prose, which has the quality of epic poetry mixed with thumping energy. Secondly, Carlyle has an uncanny knack for making the reader feel like they are a face peering out of the crowed watching events unfold, rather than the more sterile role of omnipotent observer in which more modern and academic histories tend to cast their reader. In the climatic chapters that detail key world-changing events (the execution of Louis XVI or Marie Antoinette, Corday’s killing of Marat, the flight to Varennes) the book is positively thrilling. Overall, then, this is an interesting book, but one to read more as a piece of literature than as an accessible historical reference. In light of this, I’d urge potential readers to peruse at least a couple of chapters (they’re short) of the eBook at Project Gutenberg to figure out if this is likely to be a work they will enjoy before taking the plunge on an expensive fine press copy.
I wrote a bit more about this book and the specific LEC edition that I read on my book blog https://ubiquitousbooks.wordpress.com/2020/07/04/the-french-revolution/… (more)
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