Thomas and Jane Carlyle: Portrait of a Marriage. . - Reviews - book review

Contemporary Review, August, 2002

Thomas and Jane Carlyle: Portrait of a Marriage. Rosemary Ashton. Chatto & Windus. [pounds sterling]25.00. 548 pages. ISBN 0-701-16709-2.It is ironic that Thomas Carlyle, that great voice in Victorian intellectual history, is now remembered by most readers as the male half of one of that era's most written about (and painted) marriages.

This is due in large part to the attractiveness of Carlyle's wife and the manuscript evidence she left behind at her death. Carlyle is now terribly 'dated' whilst his wife remains as attractive as during her lifetime. Prof. Ashton, herself an established biographer of Victorian intellectuals, has produced the longest and the most exhaustive study of the two Carlyles. Their marriage was 'one of psychological and emotional tension' as well as a story of 'astonishing literary, intellectual, and social success'. The couple fascinated people at the time and, now that Carlyle's fame has virtually vanished, they continue to fascinate. This is not just a portrait of a marriage but of a literary and intellectual marriage and through it we get a marvellous picture of Victorian literary life. Their correspondence and his published works are 'the most striking body of non-fictional prose of the nineteenth century'. Once again Prof. Ashton has produced a thoroughly researched book that is also eminently readable and fascinating. (J.M.)