Charles Kingsley

The water-babies was inspired by Kingsley's thoughts on evolution. He was one of the few clergymen to accept wholeheartedly Darwin's theories of evolution and natural selection and to devote himself to the spread of the new knowledge of nature.

In 1874, the Anglican socialist and advocate of "muscular Christianity" looked at England and saw that "tens of thousands...lead sedentary and unwholesome lives, stooping, asphyxiated, employing as small a fraction of their bodies as their minds." This book compiles his thoughts on improving the physical and spiritual health of the nation.

Committed to improving social conditions for the poor, author and clergyman Charles Kingsley worked tirelessly on behalf of the needy, including teaching the importance of proper hygiene during a cholera epidemic in London. His work influenced his writing, as evidenced in this engrossing novel about how poor sanitary conditions and public apathy cause an outbreak of cholera.

The inspiring adventures and stirring deeds of three of the greatest heroes of mythology spring to vivid life in these pages. Charles Kingsley, author of The Water-Babies and one of the Victorian age's most brilliant storytellers, recounts for young readers the legendary feats of Perseus, Jason, and Theseus. Rash and angry in his vow to slay Medusa the Gorgon, Perseus is cunning and patient in his quest. With the help of Athené's shield and Hermes'...

My dear boys, when I was your age, there were no such children's books as there are now. Those which we had were few and dull, and the pictures in them ugly and mean: while you have your choice of books without number, clear, amusing, and pretty, as well as really instructive, on subjects which were only talked of fifty years ago by a few learned men, and very little understood even by them. So if mere reading of books would make wise men, you ought...