Samuel Butler: A Sketch

"Samuel Butler: A Sketch" by Henry Festing Jones is an early 20th-century biography that paints a detailed picture of Samuel Butler, the English author, artist, and thinker celebrated for his imaginative works and groundbreaking ideas, including "Erewhon." The biography follows Butler's journey, starting with his birth in 1835 and moving through his formative years, including travels to Italy, studies at Cambridge, and adventures in New Zealand as a sheep farmer, all of which shaped his intellectual and creative development; Jones combines personal stories with insightful analysis to showcase Butler's changing perspectives on art, music, and writing, as well as his critical views on the society and religious beliefs of his time. The book offers a view into Butler’s connections with important people, like Charles Darwin, and examines the ideas that influenced his most important writings; the biography stands as both a respectful appreciation and a thought-provoking study of a complicated writer whose work continues to be important to readers and thinkers.