The Carlyles at Home

Revisiting certain book sites over the past few days, I found that Persephone Books has produced a reprint edition of an old friend: The Carlyles at Home.

It’s JANE WELSH CARLYLE (more than Thomas) who interests me immensely. There was a time when I bought several books on the women of their circle. So – of course! – sooner or later I found this highly-recommended “history” of the couple by Thea Holme.

Publisher / date: Oxford UP, 1965
pages: 204
Hardcover
genre: biography

Looking (briefly) I don’t really see many copies of the original printing (1965), so, in order to have a copy of the original Dust Jacket, I had to photograph my own copy. An owner of the current printing will be able to tell you if the illustrations by Lamb have been retained {it’s Book No. 32, in their catalogue}.

It’s been quite a number of years since I read this; but I remember enjoying it. Two nights ago, seeing that it was out in a reprinting, I pulled it off the shelf – read through the initial pages. And trotted back to the shelves to pull off the other book I have on Jane Carlyle: Letters and Memorials of Jane Welsh Carlyle (mine, bought at Monroe Street Books, in Middlebury, VT, is a 2-in-1 volume).

I must say a little of Holme’s star-shine got rubbed off when I spotted the exact same opening incident portrayed in both: the Carlyles’ move into their new Chelsea home on Cheyne Row! Including the amusing little story of Jane’s caged-bird.

Oh, well…

In truth, Holme’s narrative is so fetching, and the drawings by Lynton Lamb so endearing, that you can’t bash the book. (And we all work from our source material, if you’re lucky enough to base biography on a stash of letters.) So it’s nice to see that this volume has “new” life. I include some online reviews more recent, and therefore more informative, than anything I could say at present:

• Review at “My Porch”
• Review at “Roses at My Cottage Door”
• Illustrated Memorial Volume of the Carlyles’ House Purchase (@books.google)
• The Carlyle Letters Online [this doesn’t work for me in CHROME; try another browser if the same with you]

 

Persephone describes the book as “Each of the eleven chapters describes different aspects of the house, whether it is yet another builders’ drama or a maid giving birth in the china closet while ‘Mr Carlyle was taking tea in the dining-room…’.” Highly recommended.