{"product_id":"gospels-and-grit","title":"Gospels and Grit","description":"\u003cp\u003eWork has had a problematic history in Western thought: disparaged as being contrary to contemplation, seen as a necessary burden, and invested with moral or even sacred value. In the Victorian era, a romantic-utilitarian dichotomy developed, and ideas of work were more radically divided than at any other time. On the one hand, the most popular mythologies propagated work as a value in itself - the 'Gospel of Work' - defining and building character and fostering well-being and a sense of fulfillment. On the other hand, with widespread industrialism, automation, and the division of labour, work was perceived as toil for extrinsic gain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eGospels and Grit\u003c\/i\u003e examines the literary representations of work and labour in the Victorian works of Thomas Carlyle and the twentieth-century writings of Joseph Conrad and George Orwell, exploring how the three systematically displaced the conflict between the Gospel of Work and a non-idealist, non-theoretical pragmatism. Rob Breton argues that these writers were unwilling or unable to provide a resolution to the conflicting discourses and locates fissures emerging out of the division between work and the economic. This is an important and well-written study that provides a new depth of insight into Victorian ideology and working-class culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"By Rob Breton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43575465279670,"sku":"9780802038883","price":58.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0251\/4980\/0541\/files\/9780802038883.jpg?v=1727458960","url":"https:\/\/combined-academic.myshopify.com\/products\/gospels-and-grit","provider":"Combined Academic Publishers - Mare Nostrum Group","version":"1.0","type":"link"}