Sartor Resartus

Sartor Resartus is a parody novel which contains many of the most poignant philosophic thoughts put to paper by Thomas Carlyle.

First published in 1836, the text is richly contemplative and biographical in tone - claiming to be an account of the formative years of Diogenes Teufelsdröckh, a fictional German philosopher whose name translates to " 'god-born devil-dung". His long winded musings are the subject of scrutiny by a sceptical English editor who himself has at hand some biographic insights. 

Designed as a send-up of German Idealism, Sartor Resartus is itself a philosophic work and an ambitious literary exercise. The commentary that one should become religious due to the very existence of meaning and the ability to disdain evil led many commentators to appraise the text as existential.  

Intended to be a work of both fact and fiction, both serious and satirical, the book has an idiosyncratic tone. To this day for its unusual fusing of philosophy with humour it remains a unique and daring novel. The author capably criticises and responds to what he views as high-minded continental philosophy with an amusing narrative juxtaposed with his own homegrown philosophic ideas. 

The book proved particularly influential overseas - while reception was relatively cool on the continent, American authors took to it as an inspiration. Mark Twain and Ralph Waldo Emerson were both great appreciators who praised the readable narrative and subject.