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- Charles Kingsley
- Alton Locke, Tailor and Poet: An Autobiography
Chapters
41 totalPREFATORY MEMOIR - CHEAP CLOTHES AND NASTY - PREFACE—TO THE UNDERGRADUATES OF CAMBRIDGE - PREFACE—TO THE WORKING MEN OF GREAT BRITAIN - CHAPTER I. A POET'S CHILDHOOD - CHAPTER II. THE TAILORS' WORKROOM - CHAPTER III. SANDY MACKAYE - CHAPTER IV. TAILORS AND SOLDIERS - CHAPTER V. THE SCEPTIC'S MOTHER - CHAPTER VI. THE DULWICH GALLERY - CHAPTER VII. FIRST LOVE - CHAPTER VIII. LIGHT IN A DARK PLACE - CHAPTER IX. POETRY AND POETS - CHAPTER X. HOW FOLKS TURN CHARTISTS - CHAPTER XI. "THE YARD WHERE THE GENTLEMEN LIVE" - CHAPTER XII. CAMBRIDGE - CHAPTER XIII. THE LOST IDOL FOUND - CHAPTER XIV. A CATHEDRAL TOWN - CHAPTER XV. THE MAN OF SCIENCE - CHAPTER XVI. CULTIVATED WOMEN - CHAPTER XVII. SERMONS IN STONES - CHAPTER XVIII. MY FALL - CHAPTER XIX. SHORT AND SAD - CHAPTER XX. PEGASUS IN HARNESS - CHAPTER XXI. THE SWEATER'S DEN - CHAPTER XXII. AN EMERSONIAN SERMON - CHAPTER XXIII. THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS - CHAPTER XXIV. THE TOWNSMAN'S SERMON TO THE GOWNSMAN - CHAPTER XXV. A TRUE NOBLEMAN - CHAPTER XXVI. THE TRIUMPHANT AUTHOR - CHAPTER XXVII. THE PLUSH BREECHES TRAGEDY - CHAPTER XXVIII. THE MEN WHO ARE EATEN - CHAPTER XXIX. THE TRIAL - CHAPTER XXX. PRISON THOUGHTS - CHAPTER XXXI. THE NEW CHURCH - CHAPTER XXXII. THE TOWER OF BABEL - CHAPTER XXXIII. A PATRIOT'S REWARD - CHAPTER XXXIV. THE TENTH OF APRIL - CHAPTER XXXV. THE LOWEST DEEP - CHAPTER XXXVI. DREAMLAND - CHAPTER XXXVII. THE TRUE DEMAGOGUE - CHAPTER XXXVIII. MIRACLES AND SCIENCE - CHAPTER XXXIX. NEMESIS - CHAPTER XL. PRIESTS AND PEOPLE - CHAPTER XLI. FREEDOM, EQUALITY, AND BROTHERHOOD - PREFATORY MEMOIR.
PREFACE.
CHAPTER II. - THE TAILOR'S WORKROOM.
CHAPTER III. - SANDY MACKAYE.
CHAPTER IV. - TAILORS AND SOLDIERS.
CHAPTER V. - THE SCEPTIC'S MOTHER.
CHAPTER VI. - THE DULWICH GALLERY.
CHAPTER VII. - FIRST LOVE.
CHAPTER VIII. - LIGHT IN A DARK PLACE.
CHAPTER IX. - POETRY AND POETS.
Description
Born into a modest tailoring family, the narrator recounts a childhood shaped by the clang of the workshop and the rhythm of verses whispered in the backroom. He describes the cramped workroom where skill with needle and thread was learned alongside a growing fascination for poetry, his first attempts at verse emerging amid the smell of wool and the chatter of fellow apprentices. The early chapters reveal a tender first love and the quiet encouragement of a skeptical mother, painting a vivid picture of a world where art and labor coexist.
As he matures, his eyes turn toward the wider social struggles of his time. The memoir captures his awakening to the Chartist cause, the debates in taverns and meeting halls, and his belief that poetry can give voice to the working class. Through personal reflections and vivid anecdotes, the book offers a window into the hopes, doubts, and fierce idealism of a young tailor who strives to stitch together poetry and political action.
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Language
en
Duration
~18 hours (1036K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2005-06-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
About the author
Charles Kingsley
1819–1875
A Victorian clergyman and novelist, he brought big ideas to life through adventure, history, and social debate. Best known for The Water-Babies and Westward Ho!, he wrote with energy, humor, and a strong sense that stories should matter.
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