First published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This volume of 13 original interdisciplinary essays surveys the relationship of Victorian works and the urban experience that shaped them. Each essay addresses how the selection or rejection of an urban setting provide the context for a representative product of Victorian art or culture.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), Scottish essayist, historian, cultural critic, and leading man of English letters during the Victorian era, published "Past and Present, "one of his most influential works, in 1843. Written as a response to the economic crisis of the 1840s--closure of factories, loss of jobs, the growth of slums in industrial centers, the starving poor--"Past and Present "aimed to lead readers toward a "conversion experience" in order to stimulate social reform. In this work, Carlyle provides a trenchant articulation of the political, social, religious, and economic climate of the mid-nineteenth century and a prophetic vision of the future.
This volume, the fourth of the eight-volume Strouse Edition, includes an informative historical introduction and illustrations, along with complete notes and scholarly apparatus, and is the definitive modern scholarly edition.

Born in 1795, Thomas Carlyle was a preeminent figure in Victorian letters. Carlyle was widely reviewed, discussed, praised and criticized during his lifetime, because of his controversial ideas as well as his masterful biographies, histories and extended essays, all forms deemed more canonical in the nineteenth century. Although opinion about him and assessments of his work have fluctuated greatly in the years since his death in 1881, interest in his writings has seldom waned. This volume presents some of the most inaccessible and some of the best critical opinion dealing with four of Carlyle's major works that are arguably most representative of his thought. These include"Sartor Resartus" (1833-34), "The French Revolution" (1837), "On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History" (1841), and DEGREESIPast and Present DEGREESR (1843). Through reviews and essays, this reference work summarizes the critical reception of Carlyle's writings from their initial appearance to the present day.

Born in 1795, Thomas Carlyle was one of the preeminent figures of Victorian letters. Carlyle was widely reviewed, discussed, praised and criticized during his lifetime, primarily because of his masterful biographies, histories, and extended essays, all forms deemed more canonical in the nineteenth century. His "Sartor Resartus" (1833-34) anticipated the spiritual crisis of the Victorian period, engaged the ideas of German philosophers, and was influential in shaping American Transcendentalism and the works of such authors as Emerson and Thoreau. Carlyle's historical writings were consistently praised for their vigorous style, their vividness, and their accuracy. Although opinion about him and assessments of his work have fluctuated greatly in the years since his death in 1881, interest in his writings has seldom waned.

This volume presents some of the most inaccessible and some of the best critical opinion dealing with four of Carlyle's major works that are arguably most representative of his thought. These include DEGREESISartor Resartus DEGREESR (1833-34), DEGREESIThe French Revolution DEGREESR (1837), DEGREESIOn Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History DEGREESR (1841), and DEGREESIPast and Present DEGREESR (1843). Through reviews and essays, this reference work summarizes the critical response to Carlyle's writings from their initial appearance to the present day. The volume emphasizes early reviews while the selections of critical articles from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries reflect mature assessments of Carlyle and include pieces that are not well known or easily accessible. The volume begins with an introductory essay that discusses Carlyle's response to his reviewers, and it closes with a bibliography of major studies.