Thomas Carlyle's "Sartor Resartus" was an influential novel, and partakes of the 19th century conceit of the "found manuscript" variety, in this case a commentary on the thought and early life of a German philosopher called Diogenes Teufelsdröckh, with editorial asides and interjections. Teufelsdröckh has written an extensive treatise on clothes, which the editorial voice plumbs for a full measure of humor - of the extremely dry British variety. The novel contains much of the philosophy current in the early years of the Victorian Age, and the novel helps shed the light of understanding on that influential period of English history.