Samuel
Butler was born in Nottinghamshire, England in 1835, the son of a reverend.
He graduated from St. John's College, Cambridge in 1858. He briefly pursued
a career as a clergyman, at the urging of his father. However, Samuel's
heretical ideals and nonconformist nature won out, and he came to be a
staunch supporter of the newly contrived Darwinism and renounced Christianity.
Later on Butler came to reject Darwinism as well, and he spent the rest
of his life as quite a loner in his ideological opinions. After spending
time writing articles in New Zealand, Butler returned to England, where
he wrote such works as his satire
Erewhon ("nowhere"
rearranged);
Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ... Critically
Examined;
The Fair Haven; and his most famous work,
The
Way of All Flesh, an autobiography. Many of his works are satires
criticizing both Darwinism and Orthodox Christianity. He studied painting
and tried to pursue art as his vocation for a time (one of his works hangs
in the Tate Gallery in London), and also tried his hand at composing music.
He died in London in 1902. Special Collections holds over 80 items by
and about Samuel Butler, including signed first editions, and later editions
of the author's most famous works. Many of the later editions are were
made famous by the use of celebrated illustrators, some of whom have signed
the copies present in our collection.
Find
Samuel Butler materials in Special Collections