Samuel Butler (1835-1902)

:For the 17th-century author of Hudibras, see Samuel Butler (1612-1680).

Career

Following graduation from Cambridge, he lived in an low-income parish in London during 1858 and 1859 as preparation for his ordination to the Anglican clergy; there he discovered that baptism made no apparent difference to the morals and behaviour of his peers and began questioning his faith. This experience would later serve as inspiration for his work The Fair Haven. Correspondence with his father about the issue failed to set his mind at peace, inciting instead his father's furor. As a result, he emigrated to New Zealand, a British colony since 1840, to put as much distance as possible between himself and his family. He wrote about his arrival and his life as a sheep farmer on Mesopotamia Station in A First Year in Canterbury Settlement (1863).

Related Topics:
London - 1858 - 1859 - Ordination - Clergy - Baptism - Morals - Faith - The Fair Haven - New Zealand - 1840 - Sheep - Farmer - Mesopotamia Station - A First Year in Canterbury Settlement - 1863

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He returned to England in 1864, settling in rooms in Clifford's Inn (near Fleet Street), where he lived for the rest of his life. In 1872 his satirical novel Erewhon appeared anonymously, causing some speculation as to the identity of the author; when Butler revealed himself as the author, some expressed disappointment that none of the more famous personages speculated about had written it.

Related Topics:
1864 - Clifford's Inn - Fleet Street - Erewhon

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Erewhon made Butler a well-known figure, and he wrote a number of other books, including a not so successful sequel, Erewhon Revisited. His semi-autobiographical novel The Way of All Flesh did not appear in print until after his death, as he considered its tone of attack on Victorian hypocrisy too contentious.

Related Topics:
Erewhon Revisited - Semi-autobiographical novel - The Way of All Flesh

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Erewhon revealed Butler's long interest in Darwin's theories of biological evolution, though Butler spent a great deal of time criticising Darwin, not least because he believed that Charles had not sufficiently acknowledged his grandfather Erasmus Darwin's contribution to the origins of the theory.

Related Topics:
Darwin - Evolution - Erasmus Darwin

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