{"product_id":"2026200009781-secondhand-matthew-arnold","title":"Matthew Arnold","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good to fair. Paperback. Page Condition: Good - possible tanning. Markings: possible previous owner inscription.   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMatthew Arnold — poet, critic, and one of the most influential cultural voices of the Victorian era — is presented here in full scholarly depth through a collection of critical essays assembled by Kenneth Allott. Part of the prestigious Writers and Their Background series, this volume situates Arnold within the intellectual and social currents of nineteenth-century England, illuminating the tensions between his poetic sensibility and his vocation as a cultural prophet. Contributors chronicle Arnold's poetic career alongside his landmark prose works — from Culture and Anarchy to Essays in Criticism — detailing how his thinking shaped debates on education, religion, and the role of literature in modern life.\n\nAllott's editorial vision brings together scholarship that treats Arnold not merely as a historical figure but as a writer whose anxieties about modernity remain startlingly resonant. The volume illustrates the contradictions at the heart of Arnold's genius: the elegiac lyricist who argued passionately for reason and sweetness and light, the school inspector who envisioned a civilised society redeemed by culture. For readers seeking to understand why Arnold still matters, this collection presents an indispensable entry point into one of Victorian literature's most searching and complex minds.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49130597581019,"sku":"2026200009781-SECONDHAND","price":12.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/9df403a7-be40-4ac7-aa72-25d853585a17.png?v=1786587138","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200009781-secondhand-matthew-arnold","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}