Samuel Butler

Samuel Butler, English novelist, born at Langar-cum-Barnstone, Nottinghamshire, and educated at the University of Cambridge. Rather than becoming a clergyman, as his father wished, Butler emigrated to New Zealand, where he was a successful sheep rancher from 1860 to 1864, when he returned to England.

Butler is best known for his satirical works. In 1865 he published The Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as given by the Four Evangelists Critically Examined which became the core of Fair Haven (1873), a mock defence of miracles, the subtle satire of which was missed by many readers. In Erewhon (1872), the story of an imaginary land, he criticized the customs and manners of contemporary England. His most important work is the novel The Way of All Flesh, published posthumously in 1903. It is a satirical semiautobiographical study of mid-Victorian family life. His works include studies in Darwinism, such as Life and Habit (1878) in which he criticized Darwin's theory of evolution; several works on the Homeric legends, including The Authoress of the Odyssey (1897); and Erewhon Revisited (1901).