The Beast And The Monk: A Life Of Charles Kingsley
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:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Good
Markings: Fair - Bumping on spine and corners. Rubbed edges.
Condition remarks: Chipping around edges of jacket with one long tear on jacket front and at back - otherwise structural. Pages clean
A richly detailed literary biography, Susan Chitty's work chronicles the turbulent inner life of Victorian author and clergyman Charles Kingsley, the man behind beloved works such as The Water-Babies and Westward Ho! Chitty uncovers the profound psychological tensions that defined Kingsley's character — the warring impulses of fierce sensuality and devout religious asceticism that gave the biography its evocative title. Drawing on private letters and personal documents, the narrative presents an intimate and unflinching portrait of a man whose passionate nature both fueled his creative genius and tormented his spiritual convictions. Written with scholarly rigor yet accessible prose, it illustrates how Kingsley's complex relationships — most notably his intense, erotically charged bond with his wife Fanny — shaped his theology, his fiction, and his public crusades for social reform. This authoritative account stands as an essential study for anyone seeking to understand one of the Victorian era's most contradictory and compelling figures.
Author: Susan Chitty
Format: Hardback
Published: 1975, Mason/Charter
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage
Pages: Good
Markings: Fair - Bumping on spine and corners. Rubbed edges.
Condition remarks: Chipping around edges of jacket with one long tear on jacket front and at back - otherwise structural. Pages clean
A richly detailed literary biography, Susan Chitty's work chronicles the turbulent inner life of Victorian author and clergyman Charles Kingsley, the man behind beloved works such as The Water-Babies and Westward Ho! Chitty uncovers the profound psychological tensions that defined Kingsley's character — the warring impulses of fierce sensuality and devout religious asceticism that gave the biography its evocative title. Drawing on private letters and personal documents, the narrative presents an intimate and unflinching portrait of a man whose passionate nature both fueled his creative genius and tormented his spiritual convictions. Written with scholarly rigor yet accessible prose, it illustrates how Kingsley's complex relationships — most notably his intense, erotically charged bond with his wife Fanny — shaped his theology, his fiction, and his public crusades for social reform. This authoritative account stands as an essential study for anyone seeking to understand one of the Victorian era's most contradictory and compelling figures.