Festus: an epic

Edited by Mischa Willett
Edinburgh University Press, 2021
Edinburgh Critical Editions of Nineteenth-Century Texts
ISBN 9781474457811

Poetry That Echoes Through Eternity

Embark on a journey where the celestial converges with the terrestrial, where theological inquiry intertwines with human longing, and where language resonates with a rare, incandescent precision. Festus is not merely a poem—it is an epochal pulse, an epic spanning over 40,000 lines in its final form. Scholars laud it as “magnificently strange,” “a triumph of imagination,” and “a cornerstone of Victorian literary culture.” Readers find it a revelation—provoking awe, introspection, and a renewed encounter with the sublime.

Crafted by Philip James Bailey, this Spasmodic masterpiece reimagines the Faustian quest with a Victorian flourish—blending Miltonic grandeur with Romantic fervor and a prophetic voice that anticipates modernity. It is both a theological odyssey and a lyrical rebellion, a work of towering ambition yours to explore.

“We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths; / In feelings, not in figures on a dial.”
Experience that depth. This is but the prelude.

“Bailey’s Festus rides every storm and survives every revolution of taste.” — The Saturday Review

What people are saying.

  • Dr. Charles LaPorte

    Scholars of nineteenth-century culture will want to thank Mischa Willett for this beautifully curated critical edition of Philip James Bailey’s Festus. Seldom read today, Festus was devoured by Victorian readers from all walks of life and was reverenced in literary circles. Willett’s thoughtful introduction unfolds for us the magnificent strangeness, as well as the abiding interest of this remarkable work.

  • James Montgomery

    There is great exuberance of thought and imagery throughout this work, and a profuse expenditure of both, fearless of exhaustion of the author’s stores. One feels as if one had ‘eaten of the insane root that takes the reason prisoner’ in many passages… strange elevations of spirit, and stranger misgivings, alternately glowing and shivering through the bosom.

  • Margaret Fuller

    Malcom GuiteIn inspiration, in prophecy, in those flashes of the sacred fire which reveal the secret places where time is elaborating the marvels of nature, [Festus] stands alone. This book is a precious, even a sacred book….England has now only two poets that can be named near him.

Excerpt

Festus

We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths;
In feelings, not in figures on a dial.
We should count time by heart--throbs. He most lives
Who thinks most--feels the noblest--acts the best.
Life's but a means unto an end--that end
Beginning, mean and end to all things--God.
The dead have all the glory of the world.
Why will we live and not be glorious?
We never can be deathless till we die.
It is the dead win battles. And the breath
Of those who through the world drive like a wedge,
Tearing earth's empires up, nears Death so close
It dims his well-worn scythe.

Philip Bailey photo

About the author

Philip James Bailey (1816–1902) was an English poet and barrister, best known for his sprawling epic Festus. Born in Nottingham, he studied law at Lincoln’s Inn but found his true calling in poetry. A luminary of the Spasmodic school, Bailey’s work fused Romantic passion with Victorian depth, earning admiration from Tennyson and Longfellow. First published in 1839, Festus grew over decades into a monumental exploration of faith, morality, and the human soul. A reclusive scholar, Bailey’s legacy endures as a bold voice in 19th-century literature.

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About the editor

Dr. Mischa Willett is a celebrated poet and essayist, with scholarly articles and translations appearing in a wide range of venues. He is a practicing Anglican and a professor of English Literature at Arizona Christian University. Mischa and his wife live in Scottsdale, Arizona with their three young children.

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