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Edward Carpenter: A Life of Liberty and Love
The gay socialist writer Edward Carpenter had an extraordinary impact on the cultural and political landscape of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A mystic advocate of, among other causes, free love, recycling, nudism, women’s suffrage and prison reform, his work anticipated the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Sheila Rowbotham’s highly acclaimed biography situates Carpenter’s life and thought in relation to the social, aesthetic and intellectual movements of his day, and explores his friendships with figures such as Walt Whitman, E.M. Forster, Isadora Duncan and Emma Goldman. Edward Carpenter is a compelling portrait of a man described by contemporaries as a ‘weather-vane’ for his times.
576 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2008
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About the author
Sheila Rowbotham
77 books87 followersSheila Rowbotham is a British socialist feminist theorist and writer.
Rowbotham was born in Leeds (in present-day West Yorkshire), the daughter of a salesman for an engineering company and an office clerk. From an early age, she was deeply interested in history. She has written that traditional political history "left her cold", but she credited Olga Wilkinson, one of her teachers, with encouraging her interest in social history by showing that history "belonged to the present, not to the history textbooks".
Rowbotham attended St Hilda's College at Oxford and then the University of London. She began her working life as a teacher in comprehensive schools and institutes of higher or Adult education. While attending St. Hilda's College, Rowbotham found her syllabus with its heavy focus on political history to be of no interest to her. Through her involvement in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and various socialist circles including the Labour Party's youth wing, the Young Socialists, Rowbotham was introduced to Karl Marx's ideas. Already on the left, Rowbotham was converted to Marxism. Soon disenchanted with the direction of party politics she immersed herself in a variety of left-wing campaigns, including writing for the radical political newspaper Black Dwarf. In the 1960s, Rowbotham was one of the founders and leaders of the History Workshop movement associated with Ruskin College.
Towards the end of the 1960s she had become involved in the growing Women’s Liberation Movement (also known as Second-wave feminism) and, in 1969, published her influential pamphlet "Women's Liberation and the New Politics", which argued that Socialist theory needed to consider the oppression of women in cultural as well as economic terms. She was heavily involved in the conference Beyond the Fragments (eventually a book), which attempted to draw together democratic socialist and socialist feminist currents in Britain. Between 1983 and 1986, Rowbotham served as the editor of Jobs for Change, the newspaper of the Greater London Council.
(from Wikipedia)
Rowbotham was born in Leeds (in present-day West Yorkshire), the daughter of a salesman for an engineering company and an office clerk. From an early age, she was deeply interested in history. She has written that traditional political history "left her cold", but she credited Olga Wilkinson, one of her teachers, with encouraging her interest in social history by showing that history "belonged to the present, not to the history textbooks".
Rowbotham attended St Hilda's College at Oxford and then the University of London. She began her working life as a teacher in comprehensive schools and institutes of higher or Adult education. While attending St. Hilda's College, Rowbotham found her syllabus with its heavy focus on political history to be of no interest to her. Through her involvement in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and various socialist circles including the Labour Party's youth wing, the Young Socialists, Rowbotham was introduced to Karl Marx's ideas. Already on the left, Rowbotham was converted to Marxism. Soon disenchanted with the direction of party politics she immersed herself in a variety of left-wing campaigns, including writing for the radical political newspaper Black Dwarf. In the 1960s, Rowbotham was one of the founders and leaders of the History Workshop movement associated with Ruskin College.
Towards the end of the 1960s she had become involved in the growing Women’s Liberation Movement (also known as Second-wave feminism) and, in 1969, published her influential pamphlet "Women's Liberation and the New Politics", which argued that Socialist theory needed to consider the oppression of women in cultural as well as economic terms. She was heavily involved in the conference Beyond the Fragments (eventually a book), which attempted to draw together democratic socialist and socialist feminist currents in Britain. Between 1983 and 1986, Rowbotham served as the editor of Jobs for Change, the newspaper of the Greater London Council.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 10, 2021
Liberty and Love refer to the two themes that unwind themselves throughout Sheila Rowbotham"s erudite study: Carpenter's concern with democracy and homogenic reform. (As a purist, he disliked the term homosexual simply because it was a bastard mixture of Latin and Greek). Rowbotham is an incisive writer and she does an excellent job of bringing out the paradoxes of Carpenter -- a Cambridge educated man who sought to liberate the non-educated working class -- a man with an orthodox upbringing yet a heterodox view of society -- a man hell bent on waking people up from Victorian mummification into a new heaven on earth.
Every now and again, however, unexpected howlers occur. Carpenter came to work in West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. Neither existed at that time. And when Carpenter and Merrill, his male lover, ascend Mam Tor together, Rowbotham observes how cold that day was and the Shivering Mountain lived up to its name. Unfortunately, the title of Shivering Mountain has nothing to do with temperature: Mam Tor has frequent landslips and when they happen it seems to shake and shiver. Sometimes, I had a feeling that the book was rather too bookish and simple realities were not checked. Also, Carpenter was a polymath -- like Blake, he was a poetic visionary; like Whitman, he was a political dreamer. Much is made of Carpenter and the Whitmanites, but little said about the poetry that caused such a stir. Or indeed of Carpenter's poetry. Too often there is a sense in biography that poetry is not history and not really part of the biographer's remit.
Ultimately, an impressive and important book.
Every now and again, however, unexpected howlers occur. Carpenter came to work in West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. Neither existed at that time. And when Carpenter and Merrill, his male lover, ascend Mam Tor together, Rowbotham observes how cold that day was and the Shivering Mountain lived up to its name. Unfortunately, the title of Shivering Mountain has nothing to do with temperature: Mam Tor has frequent landslips and when they happen it seems to shake and shiver. Sometimes, I had a feeling that the book was rather too bookish and simple realities were not checked. Also, Carpenter was a polymath -- like Blake, he was a poetic visionary; like Whitman, he was a political dreamer. Much is made of Carpenter and the Whitmanites, but little said about the poetry that caused such a stir. Or indeed of Carpenter's poetry. Too often there is a sense in biography that poetry is not history and not really part of the biographer's remit.
Ultimately, an impressive and important book.
February 25, 2018
A thorough and fascinating biography of an extraordinary socialist, feminist, and gay activist, who lived openly with his male partner at the same time as Oscar Wilde was being pilloried and prosecuted for his sexuality.
July 15, 2009
Reading Rowbothams' exhaustive new biography of Edward Carpenter was a little like reading my own biography. Not because my life resembles Carpenter's, but that my life has changed so much since I was first introduced to him. Much of what I originally admired about him no longer seems admirable to me: his politics too idealistic to be effective; his sex life sordid, self-loathing, and unnecessarily complicated; his appearance absurd and too self-regarding. I am rigid with middle-aged disapproval for my credulous young self and for Carpenter, for filling my head with all that rubbish.
But then I re-read bits of "Towards Democracy" and I know my disapproval is just the caution and fear of a disappointed romantic, a way of warning me to be on my guard against too much hope and optimism. Knowing this about myself turned my attention to practical details of Rowbotham's biography of Carpenter: how did his way of living contribute value or happiness to his life? I drew two obvious conclusions, one a negative example, the other positive.
In both his life and how his life is remembered, Carpenter seems to have suffered from diffusion. He was so many things and involved in so many causes that he became and remains hard to define. He is often described as "connected" to this or that group or movement, but he is rarely described as its representative. This is not exactly a character fault, but it does make me wonder how his life would have been different if he had focused his energies on one or two causes. With my own energies, prospects, and talents so much less than Carpenter's, it is even more important that someone like me should choose carefully what (or to whom) I devote myself.
Rowbotham shows that Carpenter invested an incredible portion of his energy toward the cultivation of friendship, for which he was rewarded again and again in his life. I think I'm too often likely to think that friendship is the byproduct of a happy life, rather than its cause.
But then I re-read bits of "Towards Democracy" and I know my disapproval is just the caution and fear of a disappointed romantic, a way of warning me to be on my guard against too much hope and optimism. Knowing this about myself turned my attention to practical details of Rowbotham's biography of Carpenter: how did his way of living contribute value or happiness to his life? I drew two obvious conclusions, one a negative example, the other positive.
In both his life and how his life is remembered, Carpenter seems to have suffered from diffusion. He was so many things and involved in so many causes that he became and remains hard to define. He is often described as "connected" to this or that group or movement, but he is rarely described as its representative. This is not exactly a character fault, but it does make me wonder how his life would have been different if he had focused his energies on one or two causes. With my own energies, prospects, and talents so much less than Carpenter's, it is even more important that someone like me should choose carefully what (or to whom) I devote myself.
Rowbotham shows that Carpenter invested an incredible portion of his energy toward the cultivation of friendship, for which he was rewarded again and again in his life. I think I'm too often likely to think that friendship is the byproduct of a happy life, rather than its cause.
November 7, 2017
This is a great book, I am so glad I finally read it (took a while, the length is intimidating). Very thorough, and the subject deserves it. Impossible to do credit to Edward Carpenter in the space of a review like this, and to really do him justice, best to read the 456 pages of the main text of this book. No doubt short bios of Carpenter exist, and if you don't feel the need to know every tiny detail of his life, you might look for one of them. As for me, I finished this long book with curiosity to read more -- perhaps some of Carpenter's own work, or some of the remembrances by those who knew him.
One interesting theme at the end of the book was how much power there was in his presence, so that a number of people remembered that as more compelling than his writing (without dismissing the writing, which gave hope to many, isolated LGBT folk in particular). I'm glad I read this book and gained a sense of Carpenter's life and times, but it is still hard to resist the temptation to describe him as a bridge from Walt Whitman to Gay Liberation and beyond. Nor was that his only cause, far from it: Many of the ideas he championed were out of fashion at the time of his death, but very much alive in our culture now (e.g., healthy organic food for everyone; the importance of civil society as a balance to the power of the state - the list could go on and on).
One charming feature of the book is that it seems to confirm the chain of sexual connection from Whitman to Carpenter to Gavin Arthur (grandson of U.S. President Arthur), and on to various 20th century American queers. Side note: The GLBT Museum in San Francisco recently had a Gavin Arthur exhibit (in connection with The Summer Of Love 50th anniversary, I believe). It may have been taken down by now, but very much worth seeing, if it is still on display.
Last but not least, I cannot praise Sheila Rowbotham enough for the tremendous amount of work that must have gone into this book, and the great read that is the result. What a great gift to readers now and in the future!
One interesting theme at the end of the book was how much power there was in his presence, so that a number of people remembered that as more compelling than his writing (without dismissing the writing, which gave hope to many, isolated LGBT folk in particular). I'm glad I read this book and gained a sense of Carpenter's life and times, but it is still hard to resist the temptation to describe him as a bridge from Walt Whitman to Gay Liberation and beyond. Nor was that his only cause, far from it: Many of the ideas he championed were out of fashion at the time of his death, but very much alive in our culture now (e.g., healthy organic food for everyone; the importance of civil society as a balance to the power of the state - the list could go on and on).
One charming feature of the book is that it seems to confirm the chain of sexual connection from Whitman to Carpenter to Gavin Arthur (grandson of U.S. President Arthur), and on to various 20th century American queers. Side note: The GLBT Museum in San Francisco recently had a Gavin Arthur exhibit (in connection with The Summer Of Love 50th anniversary, I believe). It may have been taken down by now, but very much worth seeing, if it is still on display.
Last but not least, I cannot praise Sheila Rowbotham enough for the tremendous amount of work that must have gone into this book, and the great read that is the result. What a great gift to readers now and in the future!
May 10, 2021
This was such a rewarding read as the biography is so well written by Sheila Rowbotham, she writes in such a way that made me constantly want to learn more about Edward Carpenter. The recounting and assessment of his life feels to me very rounded for while we learn so much that is positive about him his occasional (and they do seem to have been occasional) shortcomings are also highlighted.
I would have been very proud to have lived his life. He originated from a relatively affluent family (an affluence that sustained him for much of his life and enabled him to take the risks he did) and could so easily have remained in that comfortable and conformist milieu, particularly once he had established himself as an academic.
However his genuine and deep seated care for all humanity led to him taking up such a diverse range of social and political causes and his life became a role model for so many of them. His homosexuality, which he lived publicly, led to much writing, the promotion of utopian communities, all of which explored the nature of sexuality and the application of tolerance within human relationships / communities, themes which still have resonance and relevance to today's society.
There is so much to be drawn from his life and from the manner in which it is so well set out in this biography. I do urge anyone who is interested in the future of humanity and in achieving peace personally / universally to read this biography.
I would have been very proud to have lived his life. He originated from a relatively affluent family (an affluence that sustained him for much of his life and enabled him to take the risks he did) and could so easily have remained in that comfortable and conformist milieu, particularly once he had established himself as an academic.
However his genuine and deep seated care for all humanity led to him taking up such a diverse range of social and political causes and his life became a role model for so many of them. His homosexuality, which he lived publicly, led to much writing, the promotion of utopian communities, all of which explored the nature of sexuality and the application of tolerance within human relationships / communities, themes which still have resonance and relevance to today's society.
There is so much to be drawn from his life and from the manner in which it is so well set out in this biography. I do urge anyone who is interested in the future of humanity and in achieving peace personally / universally to read this biography.
April 23, 2024
This is a difficult book. While the focus of the book is supposedly the life of socialist poet and gay advocate Edward Carpenter, the author tends to drift from Carpenter into a number of peripheral characters who drift into the narrative. Further complicating the narrative, the author assumes the reader has a good knowledge of social movements in Victorian England. the sections of the book that focus on Carpenter are excellent; it is only when the book drifts into these aspects that are not essential to knowing about Carpenter that the book becomes hard to follow. I was disappointed.
May 10, 2020
Edward Carpenter was a prophet in his vision for an equal and environmentally just world, agitating for feminism, socialism, polyamory, gay rights and prison reform at the dawn of the 20th century.
October 15, 2011
I didn’t even know I wanted to read a biography of a late 19th century gay British socialist. I saw this book prominently displayed on the New Biographies shelf at the library and impulsively picked it up. Who was Edward Carpenter and why would somebody write a biography about him? Though my questions were answered, this book was not the easiest of reads. Wading through the detailed analysis of his works is a bit of a chore. The book is more entertaining when focusing on the man and his passions, both sexual and political. The book, while primarily about Edward Carpenter and his work, also paints a clear picture of the events and some of the people that steered the political and cultural climate in England just before and after the turn of the century...the century before last.
I don't know this for a fact, but I believe Rowbotham was caught a bit off guard by finding out that Carpenter was an anti-Semite. It seems she tries to qualify it by stating that he was only opposed to Jews as 'rhetorical categories' and not as 'individual Jewish people,' but it must have been a profound enough aspect of his character for G.B. Shaw to call him out on it in The Perfect Wagnerite.
I don't know this for a fact, but I believe Rowbotham was caught a bit off guard by finding out that Carpenter was an anti-Semite. It seems she tries to qualify it by stating that he was only opposed to Jews as 'rhetorical categories' and not as 'individual Jewish people,' but it must have been a profound enough aspect of his character for G.B. Shaw to call him out on it in The Perfect Wagnerite.
December 24, 2009
An interesting life made unreadable by an irritating prose style and an archness about "that dreadful thing which Freud calls sex," to quote Lucia. After about the 37th reference to handsome strapping young workingclass men accompanied by 37 ways of expressing nudge nudge wink wink, I abandoned the effort of picking out the important themes in the life of this first modern advocate - not apologist - of a gay male way of life, whom everyone knew. How could it not be fascinating? By Rowbotham's inability to create foreground and background, detail and generality, as she writes.
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July 24, 2011There has long been a need for a thorough biography of Edward Carpenter and we now have one that is solidly researched and readably written on Carpenter's long, and, in terms of both relationships and politics, complex life. It provides a good sense of his context, and also of the very diffuse and persistence influence he had.
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July 27, 2011This wonderfully written and extremely well-researched biography of Edward Carpenter (1844-1929), by the co-author (with Jeffrey Weeks) of "Socialism and the New Life: The Personal and Sexual Politics of Edward Carpenter and Havelock Ellis" (1977), is likely to become the definitive life of this pioneering campaigner for gay liberation.
June 5, 2009
Fascinating bio of a socialist gay utopian of the Victorian era by the beloved feminist Sheila Rowbotham
November 8, 2013
Interesting man with some admirable qualities but a difficult read. Endless details. Needs some editing.
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August 1, 2016Read by ACRL Member of the Week Clint Chamberlain. Learn more about Clint on the ACRL Insider Blog.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews