19th Century Literature

What happened in the West during the 19th century was pretty much what you'd expect from a society whose religious and philosophical foundations had been shaken to the root after centuries of overt Christian influence. There were basically three possible responses: to reject Christianity and accept the new humanism wholesale; to try to maintain a balance between the two; or, to maintain complete allegiance to the Christian faith and defend it against the growing number of anti-Christian ideas.

Unfortunately, those in the latter group often reverted to a simple anti-intellectualism that, far from upholding a solid Christian worldview, undermined the faith to which they so desperately clung. Those who didn't go to that extreme often went to another—in their attempt to remain intellectually relevant, many Christian writers and thinkers began to embrace the increasingly unchristian ideas surfacing, and try to collate them with orthodox doctrine. It was a confusing time, and the lines of Christian culture and secular culture began to blur in increasingly bizarre ways.

For one thing, theologians began to adopt the view that science and faith were separate realms, and that each had its own realm of authority on which the other could not infringe. Charles Darwin's theory of general evolution was obviously instrumental in fostering this idea, but other forward strides in practical science like the mechanization of the Industrial Revolution, improvements in medical knowledge, and a growing sense that only what could be observed was "real" were just as influential.

It all went back to Progress, really. The Enlightenment ideal of man's interminable forward movement through the centuries meant that things were getting better, and with things demonstrably getting better it was hard for many to argue. Because many of the philosophical ideas that accompanied scientific progress were rooted in humanism rather than Christianity, people assumed the two were incompatible to some degree, and to be reconciled they had to be separated.

Not everyone was happily devoted to Progress, however. One of the 19th century's dominant literary movements was devoted to the opposite. Romanticism was as much a child of the Enlightenment as scientism, but instead of going forward they grasped Rousseau's idea that man is at his best when at his most natural, and went backward. Or tried—praising nature, deriding civilization and technology, and pursuing free love is easier evoked in poetry than practiced in real life, as its leaders soon discovered. Still, men like Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge left behind some of the greatest verse ever written.

The Victorians were certainly influenced by Romanticism and the Enlightenment, but they were a little more balanced. Writers like Charles Dickens (possibly the greatest novelist of all time) and William Makepeace Thackeray combined Christian themes, satire, social activism and a heightened aesthetic sense to simultaneously comment on and delight the culture at large. In many ways the novel came into its own during this period, though some of its best practitioners were still 50-100 years in the future.

In the New World a particularly American version of Romanticism took hold. Transcendentalism as espoused by Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Henry David Thoreau was less organized than its Continental counterpart. It was also less rooted in Western tradition, at least, in the Classical Western tradition; the Transcendentalists preferred biblical symbolism, particularly the Old Testament with its often unsettling and apocalyptic imagery.

No era can claim a single literary or intellectual trajectory, but each phase in human history has its own zeitgeist, the spirit of the age. For the 19th century it was the final shift of authority away from any Divine source and onto the shoulders of man. There were great Christian writers who tried to stem the tide (Robert Browning, R. L. Dabney, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, and Charles Ryrie come readily to mind), but secular man was having his heyday and mostly prevailed in the public sphere.

Without the 19th century we wouldn't have most of the fiction genres we enjoy now. Mystery and detective fiction, science fiction, fantasy, escapist adventure novels, realistic historical fiction, etc., all came into being between the beginning of the French Republic and the founding of Major League Baseball. Whatever your opinion of the ideas rampant in these works, these are some of the best philosophical treatises, novels, poems, short stories, and essays history has to offer.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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85 Items found Print
Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Sterling Classics
by Jules Verne, translated by Lewis Page Mercier and illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
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A Christmas Carol Audio Drama - 2 CD set
by Charles Dickens
from Focus on the Family
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Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
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Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
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Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Grosset & Dunlap
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Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Penguin Classics
by Lewis Carroll
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Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
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$11.00
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
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by Lewis Carroll
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, Illustrated by John Tenniel
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by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
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by Jules Verne, abridged by Hilda Young, illustrated by Gianni Demo
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$16.00 (1 in stock)
At the Back of the North Wind
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Child's Garden of Verses
Arcadia
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Charles Robinson
from Princess House Books
Poetry for 1st-5th grade
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$9.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Charles Robinson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Poetry for 1st-5th grade
Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Stories
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
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Classic Tales of Oscar Wilde
by Oscar Wilde, illustrated by Charles Robinson
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Count of Monte Cristo (adapted)
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Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady
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David Copperfield (adapted)
by Charles Dickens; retold by Clare West
from Oxford University
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Dickens' Stories about Children
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Clara Burd, introduction by Elizabeth Lodor Merchant
from John C. Winston
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
ECL: Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Al Davidson
from BiblioLife
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ECL: Black Beauty
Educator's Classic Library
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Michael Rios
from Classic Press
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ECL: Jungle Book
Educators Classic Library #5
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by William Dempster
from Classic Press
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ECL: Virginian
Educator Classic Library #6
by Owen Wister, illustrated by Don Irwin
Complete and Unabridged Edition from Classic Press
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Fantasy Stories of George Macdonald - 4 Book Set
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Craig Yoe
from Eerdmans
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
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Five Weeks in a Balloon
by Jules Verne, translated by William Lackland and illustrated by Edouard Riou
Illustrated Fir from SeaWolf Press
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$9.95
Gifts of the Child Christ - 2 Volume Set
by George MacDonald
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Grimm's Fairy Tales
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Lucille Corcos
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Grimm's Fairy Tales
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, selected & edited by Louis & Bryna Untermeyer and illustrated by Lucille Corcos
from Easton Press
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in Leather Bound Collectible Books (Location: VIN-LEA)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Windermere Readers #4
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Hope Dunlap
1954 printing from Rand McNally
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Grimm's Fairy Tales
Windermere Series 1
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Hope Dunlap
from Rand McNally
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Windermere Series 2
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Hope Dunlap
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Windermere Series 3
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Windermere Series 4
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Grimm's Fairy Tales
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, selected & illustrated by Elenore Abbott
from Charles Scribner's Sons
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Hans Christian Andersen: The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories
by Hans Christian Andersen, Translated by Erik Christian Haugaard
1983 Anchor Books Edition from Anchor Books
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$27.00
Jungle Book
Whole Story Series
by Rudyard Kipling
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Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
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Jungle Book
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Signet Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
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Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
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Just So Stories
by Rudyard Kipling
from Crescent Books
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$7.00 (1 in stock)
Kidnapped
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Action/Adventure for 4th-8th grade
Legend of Sleepy Hollow
by Washington Irving
from Philomel Books
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Books of Wonder
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from HarperCollins
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Legend of Sleepy Hollow
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Bloomsbury Publishing
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Legend of Sleepy Hollow
by Washington Irving, illustrated by Jack Tinker
from Sealantic Fund, Inc.
for 5th-10th grade
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$18.00 (1 in stock)
Life of Our Lord
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Rachel Taft-Dixon
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-7th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Puffin Classics
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Little Men
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Louisa May Alcott
from Reader's Digest
for 4th-9th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Howard Pyle, illustrated by Lawrence Beall Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Howard Pyle, illustrated by Lawrence Beall Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Howard Pyle, illustrated by Lawrence Beall Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-8th grade
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Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Howard Pyle, illustrated by Lawrence Beall Smith
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
by Howard Pyle, illustrated by Jo Polseno
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Old-Fashioned Girl
by Louisa May Alcott, Illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith
150th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$10.95
Prince and the Pauper
Portland House Illustrated Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Franklin Booth
from Portland House
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Prince and the Pauper
by Mark Twain, illustrated by William Hatherell
from The Folio Society
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
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Puck of Pook's Hill
by Rudyard Kipling
from Echo Library
for 4th-9th grade
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Puck of Pook's Hill & Rewards and Fairies
by Rudyard Kipling
from Oxford University
for 4th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Rose & the Ring
by William Makepeace Thackeray
from Heritage Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Slovenly Peter
Calla Editions
by Mark Twain
from Dover Publications
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann Wyss, illustrated by Louis Rhead
200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Realistic Stories/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$11.95
Swiss Family Robinson
Everyman Children's Classics
by Johann Wyss, illustrated by Louis Rhead
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Stories/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann Wyss, translated by Mary Godwin, introduction and notes by John Seelye
from Penguin Classics
for 5th-9th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$15.00
Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann Wyss
New edition from Signet Classics
for 5th-9th grade
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$5.99
Tales from the Arabian Nights
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Andrew Lang, with Edmund Dulac illustrations
from Reader's Digest
for 4th-9th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Tanglewood Tales
Copper Lodge Library
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
from Classical Conversations
for 3rd-6th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.99
Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There
Books of Wonder
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Treasure Island
Whole Story Series
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Francois Place
from Viking Press
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 5th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Frank Godwin
from Reader's Digest
for 5th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Louis Rhead
from SeaWolf Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.95
Treasure Island
Windermere Readers #16
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Treasure Island
Windermere Series 1
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Treasure Island
Windermere Series 2
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Milo Winter
1921 printing from Rand McNally
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Treasure Island
Windermere Series 3
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Milo Winter
1924 Printing from Rand McNally
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Treasure Island
Windermere Series 4
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Milo Winter
1939 Edition from Rand McNally
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Living Book Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Penguin Classics
by Jules Verne, translated by David Coward
from Puffin Books
Science Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$13.00
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules Verne
from SAPE
Science Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys OSI
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 5th-10th grade