Alfred Tennyson, Enoch Arden Etc

Marion Shaw (University of Loughborough)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1864

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem collection

Resources

Tennyson originally gave the title of Idylls of the Hearth to the volume he published in August 1864 as Enoch Arden etc. By this time he was famous: In Memoriam (1850) had brought him critical and popular acclaim and the laureateship; Maud (1855), though more equivocally received, had also sold well, and the first four books of what would become Idylls of the King were resoundingly successful when they were published in 1859. But the success of Enoch Arden etc was phenomenal: seventeen thousand copies were sold on the day of publication and sixty thousand by the end of the year. There were some objections to the subject matter and the style of some of the poems but overall it captured the mood of the age.

Tennyson’s first title, Idylls of the Hearth, expressed...

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2500 words

Citation: Shaw, Marion. "Enoch Arden Etc". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 October 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5354, accessed 12 February 2026.]

Alfred Tennyson, Enoch Arden Etc

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

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