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The Voice of Victorian Sex: Arthur H. Clough 1819-1861
Arthur Hugh Clough is the great undiscovered genius of Victorian literature. The golden hope of his generation at Rugby and Oxford, he battled against the orthodoxies of his time to produce some of the 19th century’s most witty and original verse. Sexually and morally tortured, he died at a tragically early age, his health destroyed by his devotion to the cause of Florence Nightingale. In this study, Rupert Christiansen draws on newly discovered documents to present a dramatic portrait of a maverick figure, whose radical ideas about politics, religion, and women will make him vividly sympathetic to modern readers.
96 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2001
12 people want to read
About the author
Rupert Christiansen
19 books11 followersRupert Christiansen is an English writer, journalist and critic, grandson of Arthur Christiansen (editor of the Daily Express) and son of Kay and Michael Christiansen (editor of the Sunday and Daily Mirror). Born in London, he was educated at Millfield and King's College, Cambridge, where he took a double first in English. As a Fulbright scholar, he also attended Columbia University from 1977 to 1978.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 9, 2022
An interesting little essay on an interesting Victorian character. I'm not sure Clough lives up to the title that Christiansen has given his work, but his life and poetry are a fascinating insight into a time of great intellectual upheaval in England, and Christiansen has given us a deeply thought out account of how Clough's experiences shaped his all-to-short life.
Unusually for one of his class, Clough spent his early years in America, and when he returned to England was sent to Rugby under the tutelage of Thomas Arnold, where he was a much-loved and successful student, before heading up to Oxford with a scholarship to Balliol. His years at Oxford were not successful, as Clough struggled with having to submit to the religious test to stay at the University. This eventually became intolerable and affected his final degree, and led to him abandoning his position as a don.
He led a life of dithering over what he should do with his life. He variously entertained plans of moving to New Zealand, Australia, and actually did for a time spend some time in the USA (he was firm friends with Ralph Waldo Emerson, after meeting him in England. He was also close to Matthew Arnold and Thomas Carlyle). Eventually he got a job in the civil service, and married. However, it seems he was never truly happy, not being able to conform with societal expectations. Christiansen makes much of Clough's sexual travails - his Arnoldian education meant he was wracked with guilt over any sexual thoughts that weren't pure, exacerbated by what seems to be a predilection to prostitutes over the course of his life.
His poetry is where Christiansen finds evidence that Clough was "the voice of Victorian sex". Certainly his poetry did move on from Romantic tropes that were popular during his youth, toward a poetry of ordinary life and feelings, and to relations between men and women. Clough often gives women in his poems agency in love and romance, which is unusual for his times.
I suppose where I have reservations about Christiansen's claim is that Clough, although popular in literary circles, and seen for some time as an up-and-coming man (before he was seen as a what-might-have-been), was only a minor figure in poetry. His first published poem as an adult, The Bothie of Toper-na-fuosich was well received, but at no stage was he truly influential in the world of poesy in England.
His poetry has never been really popular - he usually appears in anthologies of Victorian poetry, but not as often in broader collections. His style was individual, preferring lesser-used metrical systems such as hexameter, and subjects that were very individual. It is hard to gather from his life whether he saw himself as a poet in any meaningful way.
His later life was spent as general factotum to Florence Nightingale, who was a cousin to his wife. He worked extremely hard in her name, until he had some sort of mental and physical breakdown in 1859. The origins of his decline are such that Christiansen can't pinpoint exactly what was wrong with him, but he went to Europe for a cure, and died in Italy with his wife by his side.
I suppose it's fitting that a minor poet gets a short book - I like the idea behind this series of "short lives" books - this was a pleasant and edifying way to spend some time waiting for my child to finish their music lesson, and like all books worth reading, has lead me on to have a look at more of Clough's work.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
Unusually for one of his class, Clough spent his early years in America, and when he returned to England was sent to Rugby under the tutelage of Thomas Arnold, where he was a much-loved and successful student, before heading up to Oxford with a scholarship to Balliol. His years at Oxford were not successful, as Clough struggled with having to submit to the religious test to stay at the University. This eventually became intolerable and affected his final degree, and led to him abandoning his position as a don.
He led a life of dithering over what he should do with his life. He variously entertained plans of moving to New Zealand, Australia, and actually did for a time spend some time in the USA (he was firm friends with Ralph Waldo Emerson, after meeting him in England. He was also close to Matthew Arnold and Thomas Carlyle). Eventually he got a job in the civil service, and married. However, it seems he was never truly happy, not being able to conform with societal expectations. Christiansen makes much of Clough's sexual travails - his Arnoldian education meant he was wracked with guilt over any sexual thoughts that weren't pure, exacerbated by what seems to be a predilection to prostitutes over the course of his life.
His poetry is where Christiansen finds evidence that Clough was "the voice of Victorian sex". Certainly his poetry did move on from Romantic tropes that were popular during his youth, toward a poetry of ordinary life and feelings, and to relations between men and women. Clough often gives women in his poems agency in love and romance, which is unusual for his times.
I suppose where I have reservations about Christiansen's claim is that Clough, although popular in literary circles, and seen for some time as an up-and-coming man (before he was seen as a what-might-have-been), was only a minor figure in poetry. His first published poem as an adult, The Bothie of Toper-na-fuosich was well received, but at no stage was he truly influential in the world of poesy in England.
His poetry has never been really popular - he usually appears in anthologies of Victorian poetry, but not as often in broader collections. His style was individual, preferring lesser-used metrical systems such as hexameter, and subjects that were very individual. It is hard to gather from his life whether he saw himself as a poet in any meaningful way.
His later life was spent as general factotum to Florence Nightingale, who was a cousin to his wife. He worked extremely hard in her name, until he had some sort of mental and physical breakdown in 1859. The origins of his decline are such that Christiansen can't pinpoint exactly what was wrong with him, but he went to Europe for a cure, and died in Italy with his wife by his side.
I suppose it's fitting that a minor poet gets a short book - I like the idea behind this series of "short lives" books - this was a pleasant and edifying way to spend some time waiting for my child to finish their music lesson, and like all books worth reading, has lead me on to have a look at more of Clough's work.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
October 20, 2023
Like many people I knew little of Arthur Hugh Clough and only found this little book - an extended essay published in book form - after seeing Clough quoted in a thick Simon Heffer tome- Google took me to Rupert Christiansens attractively produced but over egged little missive which was both entertaining and informative if misleading perhaps.
Clough seems to have been wracked with all the usual hang ups of Victorian men of a certain class and education at a certain time of change and flux- self doubt, religious confusion; reticence; male crushes; a sense of lack of direction and the mysterious nature of the female of the species. The essays title suggests Clough is the voice of Victorian sex which is seriously overselling his views and his influence. He was classed at his early death aged 42 as an underachiever; promise unfulfilled - collected poetry posthumously published by dutiful wife ( after a few published low key “ hit singles “ in his lifetime).
Still he knew or was acquainted with the likes of Carlyle; Thomas Arnold; Dickens; Thackeray; Tennyson, Emerson et al and was parodied by Lytton Strachey as a workhorse for Florence Nightingale who did indeed use his ennui as an excuse to turbo charge his workload as a sort of dogsbody Secretary to her hurricane mission of health reforms… though Christiansen could have read Hugh Smalls work on Nightingale which puts her own achievement into a darker more complex place.
As for Clough his poetry both reflected a view of women as independent and sexual beings ( the sexual voice bit of his title ) and it sounds very much like Clough would easily get a job on The Guardian these days as a sort of stereotypical conscience ridden social commentator.
At less than a 100 pages this firmly puts Clough in the frame though a wider bibliography could have provided some context for further reading outside the somewhat scant biographical information.
Good though and stimulating if one feels some affinity with an underachiever coming late to some vague clarity about how to live one’s life before the inevitable ( and for Clough) sadly early demise.
Clough seems to have been wracked with all the usual hang ups of Victorian men of a certain class and education at a certain time of change and flux- self doubt, religious confusion; reticence; male crushes; a sense of lack of direction and the mysterious nature of the female of the species. The essays title suggests Clough is the voice of Victorian sex which is seriously overselling his views and his influence. He was classed at his early death aged 42 as an underachiever; promise unfulfilled - collected poetry posthumously published by dutiful wife ( after a few published low key “ hit singles “ in his lifetime).
Still he knew or was acquainted with the likes of Carlyle; Thomas Arnold; Dickens; Thackeray; Tennyson, Emerson et al and was parodied by Lytton Strachey as a workhorse for Florence Nightingale who did indeed use his ennui as an excuse to turbo charge his workload as a sort of dogsbody Secretary to her hurricane mission of health reforms… though Christiansen could have read Hugh Smalls work on Nightingale which puts her own achievement into a darker more complex place.
As for Clough his poetry both reflected a view of women as independent and sexual beings ( the sexual voice bit of his title ) and it sounds very much like Clough would easily get a job on The Guardian these days as a sort of stereotypical conscience ridden social commentator.
At less than a 100 pages this firmly puts Clough in the frame though a wider bibliography could have provided some context for further reading outside the somewhat scant biographical information.
Good though and stimulating if one feels some affinity with an underachiever coming late to some vague clarity about how to live one’s life before the inevitable ( and for Clough) sadly early demise.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews