ENG 346: 19th-Century Literature: Victorian

Richard Reeves' sparkling new biography can be read as an attempt to do justice to this eminent thinker, and it succeeds triumphantly. He reveals Mill as a man of action--a philosopher and radical MP who profoundly shaped Victorian society and whose thinking continues to illuminate our own. To understand Mill and his contribution to his time and ours, Richard Reeves explores his life and work in tandem. The result is both a riveting and authoritative biography of a man raised by his father to promote happiness.

Nicholas Capaldi's biography of John Stuart Mill traces the ways in which Mill's many endeavours are related and explores the significance of Mill's contribution to metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, social and political philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and the philosophy of education. He shows how Mill was groomed for his life by both his father James Mill, and Jeremy Bentham, the two most prominent philosophical radicals of the early nineteenth century.

Based upon a study of Mill's intellectual environment, life, critics contemporary and subsequent, and the relation of his religious writings to the rest of his corpus, Alan Sell presents an invaluable introduction to, and exploration of, Mill's religious thought. Despite Mill's widespread failure to satisfy believers and non-believers alike, Sell shows that in his religious writings he raises issues of continuing importance, not least that of the appropriate starting-point for Christian apologetics.

Henry West has written the most up-to-date and user-friendly introduction to John Stuart Mill's essay Utilitarianism available. The book serves as both a commentary to and interpretation of the text. It also defends Mill against his critics. An appendix reviews in detail the structure and arguments of Utilitarianism. This book is primarily intended as a textbook for students in philosophy assigned to read Utilitarianism but it should also prove helpful to students and professionals in other fields.

Though his reputation as philosopher and political economist has stood the test of time, this lively study is the first to assess all Mill's major works, each a classic in its field. Against the background of his extraordinary education at home and his attachment to a liberated married woman, we follow the development of Mill's remarkable profession: reformer of the world.

This volume devoted to John Stuart Mill is part of the ICS Series in Self-Governance. Chapters discuss such subjects as Mill's book On Liberty, his essays about women, and his legacy.