The Aesthetes: A Sourcebook
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Condition: Good. Jacket: faded, no tears. Page Condition: Good. Markings: inscription on fep. Usual shelf-wear.
At the height of the Victorian era, a radical movement emerged that dared to place beauty above morality, sensation above convention — The Aesthetes brings together the essential primary texts of this provocative cultural revolution. Edited by Ian Small, this sourcebook assembles the key writings of the Aesthetic Movement, from its philosophical underpinnings in the work of Walter Pater to the decadent provocations of Oscar Wilde and the Pre-Raphaelites, presenting the reader with an invaluable archive of one of literature's most controversial and influential schools of thought. The collection chronicles the movement's insistence that art for art's sake was not mere indulgence, but a serious intellectual and cultural programme that challenged the very foundations of Victorian society. Small's editorial framework is rigorous and illuminating, situating each text within its broader historical and aesthetic context, making this an indispensable resource for students of nineteenth-century literature and cultural history. The book argues that the Aesthetic Movement was not a peripheral curiosity but a central force in shaping modern attitudes toward art, criticism, and the role of the artist in society. For anyone who has ever wondered why beauty matters — and what happens when a society is forced to confront that question — this sourcebook presents the answer with compelling authority.
Author: Ian Small
Format: Hardback
Published: 1979, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London
Genre: Literary theory
Condition remarks:
Condition: Good. Jacket: faded, no tears. Page Condition: Good. Markings: inscription on fep. Usual shelf-wear.
At the height of the Victorian era, a radical movement emerged that dared to place beauty above morality, sensation above convention — The Aesthetes brings together the essential primary texts of this provocative cultural revolution. Edited by Ian Small, this sourcebook assembles the key writings of the Aesthetic Movement, from its philosophical underpinnings in the work of Walter Pater to the decadent provocations of Oscar Wilde and the Pre-Raphaelites, presenting the reader with an invaluable archive of one of literature's most controversial and influential schools of thought. The collection chronicles the movement's insistence that art for art's sake was not mere indulgence, but a serious intellectual and cultural programme that challenged the very foundations of Victorian society. Small's editorial framework is rigorous and illuminating, situating each text within its broader historical and aesthetic context, making this an indispensable resource for students of nineteenth-century literature and cultural history. The book argues that the Aesthetic Movement was not a peripheral curiosity but a central force in shaping modern attitudes toward art, criticism, and the role of the artist in society. For anyone who has ever wondered why beauty matters — and what happens when a society is forced to confront that question — this sourcebook presents the answer with compelling authority.