Skip to content

The Way of all Flesh

The Way of all Flesh

Click for full-size.

The Way of all Flesh

by Samuel Butler

  • New
Condition
New/Perfect
ISBN 10
1857151186
ISBN 13
9781857151183
Seller
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Harrow, Middlesex, United Kingdom
8 Copies Available from This Seller
(You can add more at checkout.)
Item Price
NZ$16.74
Or just NZ$15.06 with a
Bibliophiles Club Membership
NZ$33.49 Shipping to USA
Standard delivery: 14 to 21 days

More Shipping Options

Payment Methods Accepted

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • American Express
  • Discover
  • PayPal

About This Item

Everyman's Library. New/Perfect.

Samuel Butler (1835-1902) made one reputation during his lifetime with his Utopian satire Erewhon, and a second reputation after his death with The Way of All Flesh, published posthumously This novel, the story of Ernest Pontifex, is a thinly disguised autobiography in which Butler brutally but hilariously savages the financial, sexual, familial and spiritual hypocrisies of late Victorian England Source: Publisher

Synopsis

The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler is a semi-autobiographical novel that attacks Victorian-era hypocrisy. The story traces the history of the Pontifex family from the early eighteenth century until about 1880 and focuses, for the most part, on the life of young Ernest Pontifex, the novel’s protagonist. Yet Ernest isn’t born until 1835, in the book’s 17th chapter. Butler uses the first 16 chapters to provide a psychological portrait of the Pontifex family background as a means of allowing readers to understand what factors have gone into forming Ernest’s personality and the longevity of the chains of tradition he must break. Upon publication in 1903, the book seemed very much of its time, an early 20th century groundbreaker alongside the work of Sigmund Freud and Pablo Picasso. The Way of All Flesh seemed to celebrate the end of the Victorian age just as it was decidedly over. But in fact, Butler had written the book decades earlier, between 1873 and 1884, though he deemed it too shocking for publication during his lifetime. As a result, Richard Alexander Streatfeild, a friend of Butler’s, arranged the publication — as the author requested of him — a year after his death. Streatfeild proved to be a good friend indeed as The Way of All Flesh was ranked twelfth on the Modern Library’s list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

Read More: Identifying first editions of The Way of all Flesh

Reviews

(Log in or Create an Account first!)

You’re rating the book as a work, not the seller or the specific copy you purchased!

Details

Bookseller
Bee's Books GB (GB)
Bookseller's Inventory #
38
Title
The Way of all Flesh
Author
Samuel Butler
Book Condition
New
Jacket Condition
Perfect
Quantity Available
8
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10
1857151186
ISBN 13
9781857151183
Publisher
Everyman's Library
Place of Publication
London
This edition first published
December 17, 1992
Keywords
England, Fiction, Social life and customs
Bookseller catalogs
Everyman's Library;

Terms of Sale

Bee's Books

30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.

About the Seller

Bee's Books

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2023
Harrow, Middlesex

About Bee's Books

Selling exclusively online, B's Books specialises selling a select collection of classic and new literature. All our books are hardback and are new and unread.

This Book’s Categories

tracking-