Samuel Butler: A Biography [Hardcover]

Peter Raby (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 358 pages
• Publisher: University Of Iowa Press; 1st edition (August 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877453314
• ISBN-13: 978-0877453314
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,623,703 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Workmanlike Biography, But Uninspired, November 19, 2005

By 

Diego Banducci (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Samuel Butler: A Biography (Hardcover)

Samuel Butler wrote one great book ("The Way of All Flesh"), one good one ("Erewhon"), and numerous minor ones, including translations of the "Iliad" and the "Odyssey". The problem with this book is that it dedicates roughly equal amounts of time to each of these.

The first half of the book is the stronger, discussing Butler's family life (much of which was incorporated into "The Way of All Flesh," a wonderful study of a dysfunctional familty) and the five years he spent running a sheep station in New Zealand. The reader comes away with a sense of the man.

The second half is simply tedious, focusing on Butler's fights with various critics over his later works and his relationships with three men with whom he was close. I found none of this to be interesting, and think other readerrs are likely to reach the same conclusion.

Prof. Raby has been thorough in his research, leaving no stone unturned. Unfortunately, he seems to have felt compelled to discuss each and every stone, rather than focusing on "The Way of All Flesh."

A typical scholarly work.