The Way of All Flesh: Introduction by P. N. Furbank Hardcover - 1993
by Samuel Butler; Introduction by P. N. Furbank
About this book
The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler is a semi-autobiographical novel that attacks Victorian-era hypocrisy. The story traces the history of the Pontifex family from the early eighteenth century until about 1880 and focuses, for the most part, on the life of young Ernest Pontifex, the novel’s protagonist. Yet Ernest isn’t born until 1835, in the book’s 17th chapter. Butler uses the first 16 chapters to provide a psychological portrait of the Pontifex family background as a means of allowing readers to understand what factors have gone into forming Ernest’s personality and the longevity of the chains of tradition he must break.
Upon publication in 1903, the book seemed very much of its time, an early 20th century groundbreaker alongside the work of Sigmund Freud and Pablo Picasso. The Way of All Flesh seemed to celebrate the end of the Victorian age just as it was decidedly over. But in fact, Butler had written the book decades earlier, between 1873 and 1884, though he deemed it too shocking for publication during his lifetime. As a result, Richard Alexander Streatfeild, a friend of Butler’s, arranged the publication — as the author requested of him — a year after his death. Streatfeild proved to be a good friend indeed as The Way of All Flesh was ranked twelfth on the Modern Library’s list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
Summary
First line
WHEN I was a small boy at the beginning of the century I remember an old man who wore knee-breeches and worsted stockings, and who used to hobble about the street of our village with the help of a stick.
From the rear cover
His deterministic tale of the havoc wrought by genetic inheritance, suggests, one of the great British masters of the novel of ideas.
First Edition Identification
Grant Richards first published The Way of All Flesh in London in 1903. First editions are bound in dark red cloth with gilt-lettered titling on the spine and front cover. They also include a prefatory note by Streatfeild, who edited the book.
Details
- Title The Way of All Flesh: Introduction by P. N. Furbank
- Author Samuel Butler; Introduction by P. N. Furbank
- Binding Hardcover
- Edition Fourth Printing
- Pages 416
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Everyman's Library, Westminister, Maryland, U.S.A.
- Date January 11, 1993
- Features Bibliography
- ISBN 9780679417187 / 0679417184
- Weight 1.12 lbs (0.51 kg)
- Dimensions 8.28 x 5.28 x 1.15 in (21.03 x 13.41 x 2.92 cm)
- Reading level 1340
-
Themes
- Chronological Period: 19th Century
- Cultural Region: British
- Library of Congress subjects Domestic fiction, England
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 92052916
- Dewey Decimal Code FIC
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by Butler, Samuel; Furbank, P. N. [Introduction]
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