The Way of All Flesh: Four Generations of an English Clerical Family
Samuel Butler
Sep 2026 · Aeneas Press
Ebook
482
Pages
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About this ebook
Four generations of a clerical family from the Napoleonic wars to the 1880s, told by a godfather who watches a father break a son by degrees and calls it duty. Butler wrote it over ten years, kept it in a drawer, and left instructions that it be published after his death — which is why it appeared in 1903 and shook a generation that thought the Victorian family settled. Shaw called it one of the summits of human achievement; the money that saves Ernest is left by an aunt, not earned. Thirty-nine plates after painters including David Wilkie and William Powell Frith trace the public ceremonies, market days, and family gatherings of the century the novel dissects.
Four generations of a clerical family from the Napoleonic wars to the 1880s, told by a godfather who watches a father break a son by degrees and calls it duty. Butler wrote it over ten years, kept it in a drawer, and left instructions that it be published after his death — which is why it appeare...
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About the author
Samuel Butler (1835-1902) was an English author born in Nottinghamshire, the son and grandson of clergymen, who broke with his family and spent five years sheep-farming in New Zealand. He painted, wrote on evolution against Darwin, and translated Homer. His works include Erewhon, The Way of All Flesh, Erewhon Revisited, and Life and Habit.
Samuel Butler (1835-1902) was an English author born in Nottinghamshire, the son and grandson of clergymen, who broke with his family and spent five years sheep-farming in New Zealand. He painted, wrote on evolution against Darwin, and translated Homer. His works include Erewhon, The Way of All F...
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