Kingsley, Charles, 1819–75, English author and clergyman. Ordained in 1842, he became vicar of Eversley in Hampshire in 1844. From 1848 to 1852 he published tracts advocating Christian socialism Christian socialism, term used in Great Britain and the United States for a kind of socialism growing out of the clash between Christian ideals and the effects of competitive business.
..... Click the link for more information. . These views were embodied in his first two novels, Alton Locke (1850) and Yeast (1851), both of which deal with contemporary social problems. In his subsequent novels, including Hypatia (1853), Westward Ho! (1855), and Hereward the Wake (1866), he used historical settings to communicate his ideas. A statement denigrating the Roman Catholic clergy, made by Kingsley in an article, started a controversy with John Henry Newman Newman, John Henry, 1801–90, English churchman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, one of the founders of the Oxford movement , b. London.

Early Life and Works

..... Click the link for more information. that resulted in Newman's famous Apologia. In 1859, Kingsley was made chaplain to Queen Victoria. From 1860 to 1869 he was professor of modern history at Cambridge and in 1873 was appointed canon of Westminster. Several collections of his sermons were published during his lifetime. Included among his other notable work is the well-known children's book The Water Babies (1863).

Bibliography

See Letters and Memories (ed. by his wife, 2 vol., 1877, repr. 1973); biographies by M. F. Thorp (1937, repr. 1969), U. Pope-Hennessy (1948, repr. 1973), and B. Colloms (1975); study by A. J. Hartley (1981); S. Harris, Charles Kingsley: A Reference Book (1981).

Kingsley, Charles

(born June 12, 1819, Holne Vicarage, Devon, Eng.—died Jan. 23, 1875, Eversley, Hampshire) English clergyman and novelist. After studies at Cambridge, he became a parish priest and later chaplain to Queen Victoria, professor of modern history at Cambridge, and canon of Westminster. An enthusiastic advocate of Christian socialism, he published several novels about social problems before writing the very successful historical novels Hypatia (1853), Westward Ho! (1855), and Hereward the Wake (1866). Fearing the Anglican church's trend in the direction of Catholicism, he engaged in a famous controversy with John Henry Newman. His wholehearted acceptance of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution inspired his popular children's book The Water-Babies (1863).