When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References
- Adam Smith (1.4)
- Thomas Malthus (1.4)
- Daniel Defoe (1.8)
- Euclid (1.8)
- Edward Cocker (1.8)
- Greco-Roman mythology (throughout)
- The Arabian Nights (throughout)
- Twinkle, twinkle, little star (1.3)
- Tom Thumb (1.3)
- Mrs. Grundy from The House that Jack Built (1.3)
- Oliver Goldsmith's "The Deserted Village" (1.7)
- Blue Beard (1.15)
- Coriolanus (2.1)
- Lord Chesterfield's "Letters to His Son" (2.6)
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet (2.8)
- William Shakespeare, Othello (2.8)
- Daniel DeFoe, Robinson Crusoe (2.11)
- John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress (3.5)
Biblical References
- Galatians 6:7, "for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (the Volume titles are "Sowing," "Reaping," and "Garnering")
- Luke 10:42, "the one thing needful" (1.1 Title)
- Matthew 2:16, "murdering the innocents" (1.2)
- Millennium (1.2)
- "Gloria" in the Book of Common Prayer, "as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end, Amen" (1.5)
- Catechism of CofE and Matthew 7:12, "do unto all men as I would that they should do unto me" (1.9)
- Genesis 3:14, "submissive to the curse of all that tribe" (1.10)
- Litany in the Book of Common Prayer, "from battle, and murder, and from sudden death, Good Lord, deliver us" (1.11)
- Matthew 8:23-7, "abate the raging of the sea" (1.12)
- Genesis 11:1-9, Tower of Babel – 1.12
- John 8:1-11, "Let him who is without sin among you, cast the first stone at her" (1.13)
- Ezekiel 18:27, "saved my soul alive" (1.13)
- 1 Corinthians 15:52 & Revelation 11:15, Judgment Day (1.15)
- Judas Iscariot (2.4)
- Genesis 25:30-34, Jacob and Esau (2.4)
- Matthew 26:11, "the poor you will have always with you" (2.6)
- Psalms 42:7, "depth answers unto depth" (2.7)
- Mark 5:9, "my name is Legion, for we are many" (2.8)
- Revelation 21:8, fire and brimstone (2.8)
- Mark 10:14, "suffer the little children" (2.9)
- Matthew 7:16, "the golden waters were not there" (2.9)
- Luke 10:29, the Good Samaritan (2.12)
- Genesis 3.4, "creeping on your bellies all the days of your lives, like the serpent in the garden" (3.4)
- Daniel 5, The Writing on the Wall (3.9)
Historical References
- Schedule B, the teacher training scheme set up in 1846 (1.2)
- Sir Richard Owen, a famous zoologist and anatomist (1.3)
- Teetotal Society (1.5)
- The Calmucks of Tartary (1.15)
- George Bidder, the calculating boy (1.16)
- New Poor Law of 1834 (2.1)
- The Roman Brutus (2.4)
- Lord Castlereagh (2.4)
- The Holy Office, a.k.a. the Inquisition (3.2)
- William Harvey, physician who demonstrated the circulation of blood (3.8)