Munby, man of two worlds: The life and diaries of Arthur J. Munby, 1828-1910

by Derek Hudson

Hardcover in good condition, with unclipped dust jacket in acceptable condition. From the collection of Ian Angus, British Librarian and scholar on George Orwell, whose name and date are pencilled to FEP. Jacket is sunned, particularly the spine. Edges are creased and nicked, including a few small tears. Small nick noted on the lower spine, front side. Score to the rear board, and spine is cocked. Page block is lightly blemished. Binding remains sound and pages are clear. LW

461 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Adrian]

The diaries and life of Arthur Munby, a Victorian lawyer who worked for 30 years as a civil servant for the Ecclesiastical Commission. His life's interest was working women and he seldom passed up the chance to befriend, question and help laboring women. It was through this devotion that his diary survives and the reason he met a servant named Hannah Cullwick in 1860 and married her in 1872. They stayed married until they died (in 1909 and 1910 respectively) but Munby never revealed to any of his family and but three of his acquaintances that he was married. The shame of marrying below his class was to much to bear. Munby was a fair poet and counted such literary illuminaries as Rosetti, Ruskin and Robert Browning as friends but it's his eye for detail and his remarkable marriage that keep the interest in the man alive.