The Portable Victorian Reader

by Gordon S. Haight (Editor)

This anthology recalls Victorian England in all its splendor, squalor, high good humor, and remorseless conscience. Here are extensive selections from the novels of Charlotte Bronte, Anthony Trollope, George Eliot, and Charles Dickens; the social and political observations of Benjamin Disraeili, Thomas Carlyle, and Freidrich Engels; the religious writings of Matthew Arnold and John Henry Newman; the scientific works of Charles Lyell, Thomas Huxley, and Charles Darwin; and art criticism by Oscar Wilde, John Ruskin, and Walter Pater, along with journalism, speeches, letters, and entries from the personal diaries of such luminaries as Queen Victoria herself.

Genres: Classics, Anthologies, Fiction

658 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Lisa Alfaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I hadn't realized how political this compilation was (which is my own fault). I read the bits by authors I was interested in and left the rest. However, if you want a 360' view of Victorian life through the eyes of those who were there, this is an excellent and comprehensive selection.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good collection, but I'd like to see a revised update.