Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) was a Scottish essayist, satirist, and historian, whose work was hugely influential during the Victorian era. After attending the University of Edinburgh, he suffered an intense crisis of faith and conversion that would provide the material for Sartor Resartus (1832), his first major work. The book was intended to be simultaneously factual and fictional, serious and satirical, speculative and historical. It ironically commented on its own formal structure, while forcing the reader to confront the problem of where 'truth' is to be found. His success was assured by the publication of The French Revolution (1837). Filled with a passionate intensity, hitherto unknown in historical writing, Carlyle's account of the motivations and urges that inspired the events in France seemed powerfully relevant. The dehumanisation of society was a theme pursued in later books such as Past and Present (1843), in which Carlyle sounded a note of conservative scepticism. Other works include: On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History (1841), Latter-Day Pamphlets (1850), Life of John Sterling (1851) and Early Kings of Norway (1875).
Thomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era. He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.
Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was expected by his parents to become a preacher, but while at the University of Edinburgh, he lost his Christian faith. Calvinist values, however, remained with him throughout his life. This combination of a religious temperament with loss of faith in traditional Christianity made Carlyle's work appealing to many Victorians who were grappling with scientific and political changes that threatened the traditional social order.
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