The City of Dreadful Night

James Thomson (23 November 1834 – 3 June 1882), who wrote under the pseudonym 'Bysshe Vanolis', was a Scottish Victorian poet known most notably for his poem 'The City of Dreadful Night' (1874), which expressed his bleak outlook on life after he lost his faith in religion. The work, which takes its name from Kipling's phrase, is seen as a representation of the crisis of faith and meaning, reflecti...