The Victorian Age in Literature

Most books of literary criticism are written long after their age has passed, but a rare few are written during their time - and G. K. Chesterton’s ‘The Victorian Age in Literature’ is one of them.

Born during the Victorian era, Chesterton gives an incredible insight into Victorian literature as it was perceived at the end of the 19th century. His witty accounts shine a light on the classic works of Dickens, Austen, and the Brontës, as well as leading poets of the period, from Tennyson to Browning.

His discussion ranges from the politics of the day to the birth of radical philosophies and revelations within the sciences. Chesterton’s work is a refreshingly personal look into the Victorian mind and an invaluable resource for any student of literary history.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 – 1936) was an English writer, journalist, philosopher, and literary critic. An unparalleled essayist, he produced over four thousand essays during his lifetime, alongside eighty novels and two hundred short stories.

Tackling topics of politics, history, philosophy, and theology with tenacious wit and humour, G. K. Chesterton was often considered a master of the paradox. Himself both a modernist and devout Catholic, he is remembered best for his priest-detective short stories ‘Father Brown’, and his metaphysical thriller ‘The Man Who Was Thursday’.

In his lifetime, Chesterton befriended and debated some of the greatest thinkers of the age, such as George Bernard Shore, H. G. Wells, and Bertrand Russell, while his works went on to inspire figures including T. S. Eliot, Michael Collins, and Mahatma Gandhi.