Samuel Butler was an English novelist and critic who lived from 1835 to 1902. He is best known for two major works that have remained continuously in print since their initial publication: Erewhon, a satirical utopian novel published in 1872, and The Way of All Flesh, a semi-autobiographical novel. Beyond his fiction, Butler was a wide-ranging intellectual who examined Christian orthodoxy and evolutionary thought in his critical writings. He also devoted considerable attention to Italian art, bringing scholarly focus to this subject. In addition to his original works, Butler made prose translations of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey that remain consulted by readers and scholars today. Throughout his career, Butler established himself as both a creative writer and a serious critic, contributing to Victorian intellectual discourse across multiple domains including literature, religion, science, and the arts.