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Past and Present (Oxford World's Classics)

Description:

Thomas Carlyle's Past and Present (1843) was a prophetic warning of impending disaster for mid-Victorian Britain that was delivered in what the author described as a 'miraculous thunder-voice, from out of the centre of the world.' The impact of Carlyle's social criticism was immediate and profound, shaping debate about the 'The Condition of England' question well into the twentieth century and beyond, and serving as the moral foundation of the welfare state. His relentlessly abrasive and illuminating critique of industrial civilization generated a vast range of response both in England, Europe, and the United States. The writings of Matthew Arnold, John Stuart Mill, William Morris, John Henry Newman, and John Ruskin, as well as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Walt Whitman, were saturated with imagery and ideas directly indebted to the book.

Past and Present also provided novelists and poets with an enduring vision of the ubiquitous rot that lay at the heart of 'laissez-faire' England. The repercussions of Carlyle's unique analysis can be witnessed in the literary form and thematic content of such works as Charles Dickens's Christmas Carol (1843), Dombey and Son (1848), Bleak House (1852-53), and Hard Times (1854); Benjamin Disraeli's Sybil (1845); Elizabeth Gaskell's Mary Barton (1848) and North and South (1855); and Charles Kingsley's Alton Locke (1850). Poets such as Alfred Tennyson in Maud (1855), Elizabeth Barrett Browning in Aurora Leigh (1856), and Arthur Hugh Clough in The Latest Decalogue (1862) built a vocabulary that was steeped in the outrage and indignation of Carlyle's polemic. The artist Ford Madox Brown attempted in his painting Work (1852-65) to give visual testimony to the profound social schisms that Carlyle had exposed in Past and Present and to pay tribute to the 'Sage' who had 'moulded a nation to his pattern.'
Read more

Review

It is delightful to come across a polished textbook such as this one that invites scholars to use its resources, and then guides them towards further research. ― Anna Faktorovich, Pennsylvania Literary Journal

Students and teachers of this book will find this to very beneficial...it is delightful to come across a polished textbook such as this one that invites scholars to use its resources, and then guides them towards further research. It is absolutely necessary for all types of international libraries to include this edition of this socially-impactful classic. ― Pennsylvania Literary Journa

About the Author

David R. Sorensen is Professor of English at Saint Joseph's University and Associate Director of its Honors Program. He is a senior editor of the Duke-Edinburgh Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle (1970-ongoing), and has edited with K. J. Fielding, Carlyle's The French Revolution (Oxford University Press, 1989) and Jane Carlyle: New Selected Letters (2004), with Rodger L. Tarr, The Carlyles at Home and Abroad (2004), and with Brent E. Kinser, Carlyle's On Heroes and Hero-Worship (2013). He is co-editor of Carlyle Studies Annual and a founding director of the Victorian Lives and Letters Consortium (2011- ). He also co-edited the Oxford World's Classics edition of Carlyle's The French Revolution (2019).


Brent E. Kinser is Professor of English and Department Head at Western Carolina University. He is the author of The American Civil War and the Shaping of British Democracy (2011), and the coordinating editor of The Carlyle Letters Online (2007- ; ), the electronic edition of The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle (1970- ), for which he serves as an editor. He is co-editor (with David R. Sorensen) of Carlyle's On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History (2013) He is co-editor Carlyle Studies Annual and a founding director of the Victorian Lives and Letters Consortium (2011- ). He also co-edited the Oxford World's Classics edition of Carlyle's The French Revolution (2019).

Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

F.H. · 13 September 2014

not the nicest of copies but fast delivery

2.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes powerful, but repetitive and intolerant

G.o.t.S. · 21 May 2012

Nobody reads Thomas Carlyle anymore, but back in the 1840s he was one of the most important writers in the English language. His style was not designed for general accessibility, but among his fellow writers his influence was incalculable - it's well documented that Dickens idolized him, and testimonies from George Eliot, Charles Kingsley, Emerson, Whitman, etc. also demonstrate his importance. Reading 1843's Past and Present, one of his central works and a reflection on the ills of his society, it is often hard to see why.Carlyle has a prophetic style which is often powerful. He speaks with a complete moral certainty that is in itself impressive, and his turns of phrase are strange and unexpected, sometimes grotesque, but with a real wit and insight. But he's also very long-winded and repetitive in this book, and his central ideas are not very convincing or nuanced, and delivered with an intolerance that is hard to stomach. He lambasted his society's materialism and called for a return of spirituality. He found that feudalism was more conducive to spiritualism than laissez-faire capitalism, and called for a return to communities working together under strong leadership, which he felt factory owners and "captains of industry" should try to provide. If given strong, moral leadership, workers would forget their grievances and work as, he felt, they were born to do. If they didn't work even when given this great leadership and guidance, they should be severely punished.Carlyle's tone is alternately empathetic to the poor's difficulties and unpleasantly authoritarian - sometimes it is simply vicious and sadistic. Reading it now, it's surprising that his contemporaries saw him as a voice of genuine concern for the poor - Engels was a big fan of this book! As literature, this book has a certain style, and an occasional power, but is marred by gross repetition. Ironically, part of Carlyle's philosophy was the worship of silence and the notion that action was everything and speech nothing, but he himself was a pure windbag, as this book shows. The interesting thing about Carlyle was the progression of his attitudes, the sensitivity present in much of his early work and some of the late, his descent from concern into hysterical anger in his later work. Past and Present, from around the middle of his career, shows him moving towards the latter, and so is mostly of historical interest. I believe that if his work is to be rediscovered by a new generation, Past and Present is not the place to start, but his earlier work, such as the pseudo-novel Sartor Resartus (Oxford World's Classics), a work of great verbal invention, relatively unobjectionable politics, moral depth, extreme sarcasm, and lyrical power.

Vital for understanding modern problems

I.G. · 29 July 2025

The best explanation of why inequality and misery are so prevalent today and why the medieval past was more stable and fulfilling. Carlyle should be read by everybody.

Visit the OUP Oxford Store

Past and Present (Oxford World's Classics)

Product ID: K0198841086
Condition: New

4.3

AED8084

Price includes VAT & Import Duties
Type: Paperback
Availability: In Stock

Quantity:

|

Order today to get by 7-14 business days

Delivery fee of AED 20. Free for orders above AED 200.

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Imported From: United Kingdom

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Visit the OUP Oxford Store

Past and Present (Oxford World's Classics)

Product ID: K0198841086
Condition: New

4.3

Past and Present (Oxford World's Classics)-0
Type: Paperback

AED8084

Price includes VAT & Import Duties
Availability: In Stock

Quantity:

|

Order today to get by 7-14 business days

Delivery fee of AED 20. Free for orders above AED 200.

Returns & Warranty policies

Imported From: United Kingdom

At BOLO, we work hard to ensure the products you receive are new, genuine, and sourced from reputable suppliers.

BOLO is not an authorized or official retailer for most brands, nor are we affiliated with manufacturers unless specifically stated on a product page. Instead, we source verified sellers, authorized distributors or directly from the manufacturer.

Each product undergoes thorough inspection and verification at our consolidation and fulfilment centers to ensure it meets our strict authenticity and quality standards before being shipped and delivered to you.

If you ever have concerns regarding the authenticity of a product purchased from us, please contact Bolo Support. We will review your inquiry promptly and, if necessary, provide documentation verifying authenticity or offer a suitable resolution.

Your trust is our top priority, and we are committed to maintaining transparency and integrity in every transaction.

All product information, images, descriptions, and reviews originate from the manufacturer or from trusted sellers overseas. BOLO is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an authorized retailer for most brands listed on our website unless stated otherwise.

While we strive to display accurate information, variations in packaging, labeling, instructions, or formulation may occasionally occur due to regional differences or supplier updates. For detailed or manufacturer-specific information, please contact the brand directly or reach out to BOLO Support for assistance.

Unless otherwise stated, all prices displayed on the product page include applicable taxes and import duties.

BOLO operates in accordance with the laws and regulations of United Arab Emirates. Any items found to be restricted or prohibited for sale within the UAE will be cancelled prior to shipment. We take proactive measures to ensure that only products permitted for sale in United Arab Emirates are listed on our website.

All items are shipped by air, and any products classified as “Dangerous Goods (DG)” under IATA regulations will be removed from the order and cancelled.

All orders are processed manually, and we make every effort to process them promptly once confirmed. Products cancelled due to the above reasons will be permanently removed from listings across the website.

Description:

Thomas Carlyle's Past and Present (1843) was a prophetic warning of impending disaster for mid-Victorian Britain that was delivered in what the author described as a 'miraculous thunder-voice, from out of the centre of the world.' The impact of Carlyle's social criticism was immediate and profound, shaping debate about the 'The Condition of England' question well into the twentieth century and beyond, and serving as the moral foundation of the welfare state. His relentlessly abrasive and illuminating critique of industrial civilization generated a vast range of response both in England, Europe, and the United States. The writings of Matthew Arnold, John Stuart Mill, William Morris, John Henry Newman, and John Ruskin, as well as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Walt Whitman, were saturated with imagery and ideas directly indebted to the book.

Past and Present also provided novelists and poets with an enduring vision of the ubiquitous rot that lay at the heart of 'laissez-faire' England. The repercussions of Carlyle's unique analysis can be witnessed in the literary form and thematic content of such works as Charles Dickens's Christmas Carol (1843), Dombey and Son (1848), Bleak House (1852-53), and Hard Times (1854); Benjamin Disraeli's Sybil (1845); Elizabeth Gaskell's Mary Barton (1848) and North and South (1855); and Charles Kingsley's Alton Locke (1850). Poets such as Alfred Tennyson in Maud (1855), Elizabeth Barrett Browning in Aurora Leigh (1856), and Arthur Hugh Clough in The Latest Decalogue (1862) built a vocabulary that was steeped in the outrage and indignation of Carlyle's polemic. The artist Ford Madox Brown attempted in his painting Work (1852-65) to give visual testimony to the profound social schisms that Carlyle had exposed in Past and Present and to pay tribute to the 'Sage' who had 'moulded a nation to his pattern.'
Read more

Review

It is delightful to come across a polished textbook such as this one that invites scholars to use its resources, and then guides them towards further research. ― Anna Faktorovich, Pennsylvania Literary Journal

Students and teachers of this book will find this to very beneficial...it is delightful to come across a polished textbook such as this one that invites scholars to use its resources, and then guides them towards further research. It is absolutely necessary for all types of international libraries to include this edition of this socially-impactful classic. ― Pennsylvania Literary Journa

About the Author

David R. Sorensen is Professor of English at Saint Joseph's University and Associate Director of its Honors Program. He is a senior editor of the Duke-Edinburgh Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle (1970-ongoing), and has edited with K. J. Fielding, Carlyle's The French Revolution (Oxford University Press, 1989) and Jane Carlyle: New Selected Letters (2004), with Rodger L. Tarr, The Carlyles at Home and Abroad (2004), and with Brent E. Kinser, Carlyle's On Heroes and Hero-Worship (2013). He is co-editor of Carlyle Studies Annual and a founding director of the Victorian Lives and Letters Consortium (2011- ). He also co-edited the Oxford World's Classics edition of Carlyle's The French Revolution (2019).


Brent E. Kinser is Professor of English and Department Head at Western Carolina University. He is the author of The American Civil War and the Shaping of British Democracy (2011), and the coordinating editor of The Carlyle Letters Online (2007- ; ), the electronic edition of The Collected Letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh Carlyle (1970- ), for which he serves as an editor. He is co-editor (with David R. Sorensen) of Carlyle's On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History (2013) He is co-editor Carlyle Studies Annual and a founding director of the Victorian Lives and Letters Consortium (2011- ). He also co-edited the Oxford World's Classics edition of Carlyle's The French Revolution (2019).

Reviews:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars

F.H. · 13 September 2014

not the nicest of copies but fast delivery

2.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes powerful, but repetitive and intolerant

G.o.t.S. · 21 May 2012

Nobody reads Thomas Carlyle anymore, but back in the 1840s he was one of the most important writers in the English language. His style was not designed for general accessibility, but among his fellow writers his influence was incalculable - it's well documented that Dickens idolized him, and testimonies from George Eliot, Charles Kingsley, Emerson, Whitman, etc. also demonstrate his importance. Reading 1843's Past and Present, one of his central works and a reflection on the ills of his society, it is often hard to see why.Carlyle has a prophetic style which is often powerful. He speaks with a complete moral certainty that is in itself impressive, and his turns of phrase are strange and unexpected, sometimes grotesque, but with a real wit and insight. But he's also very long-winded and repetitive in this book, and his central ideas are not very convincing or nuanced, and delivered with an intolerance that is hard to stomach. He lambasted his society's materialism and called for a return of spirituality. He found that feudalism was more conducive to spiritualism than laissez-faire capitalism, and called for a return to communities working together under strong leadership, which he felt factory owners and "captains of industry" should try to provide. If given strong, moral leadership, workers would forget their grievances and work as, he felt, they were born to do. If they didn't work even when given this great leadership and guidance, they should be severely punished.Carlyle's tone is alternately empathetic to the poor's difficulties and unpleasantly authoritarian - sometimes it is simply vicious and sadistic. Reading it now, it's surprising that his contemporaries saw him as a voice of genuine concern for the poor - Engels was a big fan of this book! As literature, this book has a certain style, and an occasional power, but is marred by gross repetition. Ironically, part of Carlyle's philosophy was the worship of silence and the notion that action was everything and speech nothing, but he himself was a pure windbag, as this book shows. The interesting thing about Carlyle was the progression of his attitudes, the sensitivity present in much of his early work and some of the late, his descent from concern into hysterical anger in his later work. Past and Present, from around the middle of his career, shows him moving towards the latter, and so is mostly of historical interest. I believe that if his work is to be rediscovered by a new generation, Past and Present is not the place to start, but his earlier work, such as the pseudo-novel Sartor Resartus (Oxford World's Classics), a work of great verbal invention, relatively unobjectionable politics, moral depth, extreme sarcasm, and lyrical power.

Vital for understanding modern problems

I.G. · 29 July 2025

The best explanation of why inequality and misery are so prevalent today and why the medieval past was more stable and fulfilling. Carlyle should be read by everybody.

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More from this brand

Similar items from “Georgian & Regency Britain”

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https://www.bolo.ae/products/K0198841086