Today, I read The Carlyles at Home (1965) by Thea Holme in order to participate with Jessie’s Persephone Readathon. I don’t remember when I picked this one, but I suspect it’s been on my shelves for quite a few years.
I know very little about Thomas Carlyle – or, rather, I knew very little about him. I knew he was a historian, and that was about it. I certainly haven’t read anything by him. Somewhere or other, I had picked up the idea that he didn’t treat his wife Jane very well – but that was something that had become exaggerated in my mind, for whatever reason. According to The Carlyles at Home, Jane had a life that wasn’t noticeably more difficult than that of other Victorian wives in high society (and without much income) – which is not to say those lives weren’t hard, of course. But she was not the ill-treated woman I’d imagined.
Holme’s book is divided thematically, and then organised seemingly at random. There are sections on the Carlyles’ servants, on dress, on an extention they built on top of the house, on the garden. It is all thoroughly researched and told in an engaging, almost conversational manner. I suppose, ultimately, the amount to which you find the book interesting is strongly proportional to the amount to which you find the Carlyles interesting (and, to a lesser degree, the period).
I have to admit that I don’t find them especially interesting, and I don’t have the same fascination for the late 19th century that I do for the early 20th century. So I could certainly appreciate the way in which this was told, particularly when Holme pulls humour out of anecdotes relayed in the Carlyles’ letters (I loved the saga of the young women next door and their annoying piano playing) – but I don’t think I was the ideal audience by any means. If it had been about Virginia and Leonard Woolf, told with the same style and skill with an anecdote, then I’d have found it glorious. So – take that as you will!
One thing I did love was the illustrations which were at the top of each chapter, by Lynton Lamb – including the one at the top of this post.
Hm… yeah… I’ll give this one a pass.
More ‘my’ period than yours – but I found it really interesting, and thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the house last year. Today it is situated in a quiet little street, but in Carlyle’s day it was a very busy and noisy street leading down to the Thames – where all the hurly-burly of the port of London reached far up-river. Thomas Carlyle’s fixation on finding a quiet place to write led to fairly monstrous use of Jane. He would call in the builders (who appeared to fling up extensions with little regard to quality, timing, materials or fulfilling Carlyle’s spec) and then he’d leg it off somewhere else, leaving Jane to live amidst the chaos and sort out the mess. On his return, he appeared to poo poo any of Jane’s descriptions of the inconveniences she had suffered, and only found breath to bemoan the inadequacy of the work – seemingly blaming Jane as much as he blamed the builders! He had an over-arching vanity about the value of his (somewhat dreary) magnum opus, and failed to see that Jane had any creative talent. Grrrrr!
The extension on the roof has deliciously crazy scheme for access to air but protection from noise – which was utterly useless! In the end, Carlyle had to grit his teeth and put up with the noise.
The house is modest in size – and the closet in which the maid went into labour, is minute. The fact that the Carlyle’s failed to notice her, as they sat in the neighbouring room, is unbelievable!
DO go and visit – you’d like it!
That story did feel a bit unlikely… and yes, will have to use my NT membership.
My interest in the Carlyles comes filtered through Woolf and also because I’ve been to the house (and agree with OVW about how small it is!) and also because I have his enormous book on the French Revolution sitting on the review pile. I think I would enjoy this because of that and also because of the lovely drawings! :D
Oo I don’t think I don’t know about the Woolf connection? I must visit the house.
I read this years ago – and looked into visiting the house which is National Trust now. Sadly it is not accessible for me, (lots of steps) but I can see it is small compared to other Victorian houses I usually visit. I can remember reading the book and despairing of Carlyle, while enjoying the general chaos of the rest of the household, and the hard work Jane had to do with the “servant problem” and a maid having a baby in a cupboard! I will look it out for my dissertation – on authors’ houses and why people visit them!
Ah, shame that it’s not accessible. And yes, the baby in the cupboard is a real distinctive moment!
Like you, I’m much less interested in the late 19th century than the early-mid 20th century, possibly because it’s somewhat easier to relate to given the time span. Those illustrations are rather lovely, though – a very nice touch.
Yes, they are simply lovely – I must look up more about Lamb.
Ooh, those illustrations are charming! I can imagine that they steal the show in the book. I’m only a little bit familiar with the Carlyles and their famously preserved house. It sounds like this is an interesting snapshot of the Victorian era, but I have to admit, your idea of a novel like this written about the Woolfs sounds even more appealing. Thanks for sharing this review!
On the other side of things, I was so sure that I wouldn’t like this one that I actually didn’t mind it at all and found myself thinking it was unexpectedly interesting – although a bit episodic, yes, I’d agree to that. Nice, though, to have the illustrations for a treat. And now you can cross this one off your Persephone reading list!
I guess it all depends on expectations! And yes, I am slowly making my way through… though possibly at a rate where they’re publishing them faster than I’m reading them!