{"product_id":"2026200014687-secondhand-essays-in-criticism-first-series","title":"Essays In Criticism (First Series)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: No dust jacket\u003cbr\u003ePages: Good\u003cbr\u003eMarkings: Previous owner\u003cbr\u003eCondition remarks: Condition as shown in image\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMatthew Arnold's Essays in Criticism (First Series) stands as one of the most influential works of Victorian literary thought, a landmark collection that announced the arrival of a penetrating and restlessly curious critical mind. Arnold presents a rigorous examination of literature and culture, arguing passionately for the role of criticism as a creative and civilising force in society, introducing English readers to the richness of European — particularly French and German — literary traditions, and challenging the insularity he saw as a defining weakness of British intellectual life.\n\nThroughout these essays, Arnold illustrates his central conviction that great criticism must seek the best that has been thought and said in the world, a standard that continues to resonate across literary studies to this day. His prose style is at once elegant and polemical, combining wit and erudition with a moral seriousness that reflects his deep anxieties about the direction of modern culture. This 1983 Chelsea House edition, part of the Prophets of Sensibility: Precursors of Modern Cultural Thought series under the general editorship of Professor Harold Bloom of Yale University, places Arnold's work within a broader intellectual lineage — leaving the reader to wonder just how much of our contemporary critical landscape was quietly shaped by his formidable, far-reaching vision.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49210284966107,"sku":"2026200014687-SECONDHAND","price":15.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/e162786f-a93f-4014-9d70-6045be35f8e7.png?v=1788268850","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200014687-secondhand-essays-in-criticism-first-series","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}