Charles Kingsley, Alton Locke

Julia Wiedemann (Katholische Universität Eichstatt)

Ed. by Grace Moore, University of Otago
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 1850

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Recommended Reading

While Charles Kingsley’s novel

Alton Locke, Tailor and Poet: An Autobiography

(1850) is little-known to today’s readers, it still enjoys a reputation among scholars. The novel is included in anthologies and companions to Victorian literature as an example of the Condition-of-England novel. This genre, also known as the social problem novel, is linked to the plight of the working class and the ensuing political agitation during the 1830s and 1840s, of which the Chartist movement was the most prominent. The term “condition of England” was adapted from Thomas Carlyle’s work on

Chartism

(1840). Other examples of this genre include Elizabeth Gaskell’s

Mary Barton

(1848) and Benjamin Disraeli’s

Sybil, or The Two Nations

(1845).

Charles Kingsley’s social problem novel is addressed

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2154 words

Citation: Wiedemann, Julia. "Alton Locke". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 July 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6750, accessed 27 April 2024.]

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