The Rev. Charles Kingsley, one of the Victorian age’s most prolific authors, wrote poetry, novels, historical works, sermons, religious tracts, and scientific treatises, as well as political, social, and literary criticism. Among his most famous literary works are the condition-of-England novels Yeast and Alton Locke, and his historical romances Westward Ho! and Hereward the Wake. He also wrote books for children, including The Heroes, Madam How and Lady Why, and perhaps his most well known work, The Water-Babies. A parish priest for much of his life, Kingsley was a particularly prominent social reformer and worked hard to improve the frequently appalling physical, social, and economic conditions of his parishioners. He was also an active educationist and, in addition to promoting ardently a state educational system, conducted penny readings in his parish, campaigned for women’s medical education, and held the chairs of English Literature and Composition at the women’s Queen’s College, London and of Modern History at Cambridge. Not surprisingly, the abundant writings of this multifaceted individual have been the subject of much commentary. Throughout the twentieth century and beyond, scholars of literature, religion, history, and other disciplines have found in Kingsley and his works copious topics for their research. The primary focus of Brendan Rapple’s book is to present annotated bibliographies of selected secondary works on the life, activities, and abundant writings of Kingsley published since 1900. Another enhancement is the variety of subject headings assigned to each bibliographic entry, which define major themes in each of Kingsley’s work. For scholars in a broad range of disciplines, The Rev. Charles Kingsley: An Annotated Bibliography of Secondary Criticism (1900-2006) will prove to be an invaluable resource.
