The Carlyle literature is vast and daunting, spread over 150 years and a wide range of subjects. Any work on any aspect of the Victorian era is likely to refer to him, and may have fresh things to say about him. For beginners the revised paperback edition of Ian Campbell's Thomas Carlyle (Saltire Society, 1993) can be highly recommended, dealing succinctly with the life and work, sensible, recently updated, readable, and with an annotated bibliography. Le Quesne's short book is a concise, clear account of Carlyle's works and thought. Many of the older standard works, especially Carlyle's own writings, are long out of print, but can usually be obtained second-hand at modest cost, both in Britain and the USA.

Biographies

J A Froude The first biography, by J A Froude, is unsurpassed, one of the classics of English biography, and perhaps the first truly modern biography. It has been reissued, but without the Carlyle letters the original volumes included. Best read in the original version.
There are two recent biographies -one by Fred Kaplan and the latest by Simon Heffer. Both are readable and make use of new material. There have been many others in the last century: a short biography by Emery Neff(1932) is one of the best. The six volumes of D A Wilson's biography are useful as a supplement to Froude. In fact they are more of a giant scrapbook than a coherent biography, made up of reminiscences, letters, and dubious anecdotes which became available over the years. To be treated with caution as a source!
The best summary of the long controversy over Froude's work is in Dunn's Froude and Carlyle.

Carlyle's works

The Reminiscences make an excellent introduction to Carlyle's own writing, less suffused with Carlylese than his other works. For the student of his life they are essential reading, particularly the essays on his parents, but the chapters on friends, especially Edward Irving and Francis Jeffrey are also good. The Oxford World's Classics paperback edition is a new and complete edition, made and introduced by experts in Carlyle studies.
There are several anthologies of extracts from the works, two of which - by Tennyson, and by Shelston (in Penguin) are in print. Sartor Resartus and French Revolution are both available in paperback from Oxford World's Classics in well-edited modern editions. For the historically inclined the latter will appeal; for those interested in Carlyle's beliefs and biography Sartor must be tackled, preferably with some kind of commentary.
Other works that are useful and approachable are Past and Present, Chartism, and Heroes and Hero-Worship, all of which introduce Carlyle's main ideas. The Penguin anthology has Chartism complete.
Much of Carlyles work is available on the internet - see Links

Jane Welsh Carlyle

Mrs Carlyle is neglected on this site, except in relation to her husband, but now has her own pages. Her health occupies as much space as her husband's, and is a more difficult problem, mixing the psychological and the organic in a heady cocktail. The best biography is the Hansons' Necessary Evil, detailed and long, but very readable. 'I Too Am Here' by the McQueen Simpsons is a well annotated collection of her letters, arranged by subject. Thea Holme's The Carlyles at Home' is vastly entertaining and has much information about Jane, the Carlyle servants, and their London home. Most of the letters used in my pages about Mrs Carlyle have not yet been published in the Collected Letters, and it is necessary to consult many old selections and editions to find them.

Collected letters

‘A man’s genuine letters…..give the most complete and indubitable stamp of him’. Carlyle

This great work - the Duke-Edinburgh edition - saw the first volumes published in 1970; the series has now reached volume 25(1998) and the year 1850. It includes all the letters known to have been written by husband and wife - almost half previously unpublished - all with scholarly annotations. Further volumes covering the remaining thirty years have still to be published. This huge undertaking represents the most important event in Carlyle scholarship of this generation, and has encouraged much new research in its wake. No student of any aspect of the Carlyles cannot but refer to these volumes, and, happily, it is thoroughly well annotated and indexed. The letters may be published on the internet within the next few years.

Bibliographies

There are two comprehensive and annotated bibliographies of Carlyle research - by G B Tennyson(1973) and by Rodger Tarr(1989). They cover all aspects of Carlyle studies including biography, and are not afraid to be critical.

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FURTHER READING