Leslie Stephen: The Godless Victorian

by Noel Annan

Sir Leslie Stephen (1832 - 1904), cleric turned agnostic, literary critic, historian of ideas, and editor, was in many respects the quintessential Victorian man of letters. In this fine study of his work, Noel Annan clearly establishes Stephen's role in shaping the intellectual and cultural attitudes of the Bloomsbury generation.

Genres: Biography

448 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1986

Reviews

[Charles Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book about Leslie Stephen, the father of Virginia Woolf, is not for the casual reader. Annan completed his examination of Stephen's life in 4 chapters, then took an additional 5 chapters to discuss the major religious, intellectual, philosophical, and ethical trends of Victorian England and Stephen's place vis-a-vis all these movements. I wasn't totally out of my depth with the material in the last five chapters; no academic biography I've read recently had such a split personality. I set The Godless Victorian aside without a qualm. It no longer interested me. It was not the same book that I started in Chapter 1.