Thomas and Jane Carlyle

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"In 1848 Thackeray told his mother, 'Tom Carlyle lives in perfect dignity' in a little house in Chelsea, 'with a snuffy scotch maid to open the door, and the best company in England ringing at it'. That small house at 5 Cheyne Row contained the most remarkable couple in London: the great sage Carlyle, with his vehement prophecies, and his witty, sardonic wife Jane, at once proud and frustrated 'in my character as Lion's wife'. It was a strong, close, mutually admiring yet often mutually antagonistic partnership, fascinating to all who observed it." "This joint biography describes their relationship with each other, from their first meeting in 1821 to Jane's death in 1866, and also their relationship with the world outside. Rosemary Ashton's blend of rigorous scholarship, warm sensitivity and lively wit makes this not only a portrait of a marriage but a picture of a whole age, elegant, erudite and entertaining."--Jacket.