Victorian Religion

Julie Melnyk is Associate Director of the Honors College at the University of Missouri, Columbia. She has edited two collections of essays: Women's Theology in Nineteenth-Century Britain and, with Nanora Sweet, Felicia Hemans: Reimagining Poetry in the Nineteenth Century.

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsChronologyIntroduction1 Church and State: Politics and the Victorian Church of England2 Variety in Victorian Religious Experience3 A Clergymans Life4 Religion and Daily Life5 Religion and Reform6 The Bible and Other Bestsellers7 Women and Religious Life8 The Victorian Religious UnsettlementConclusionsAppendix 1: The Thirty-nine ArticlesAppendix 2: Anglican CreedsGlossaryBibliography

Helping students of literature and history get a grasp on the religious world of England during Victoria's long reign is the stated purpose of this book, one at which it succeeds admirably. Julie Melnyk (University of Missouri) provides a quick history of the century, then cogently summarizes the bliefs and composition of the largest denominations. Melnyk is comprehensive and succinct in her survey of how religion was integral to all of life in Victorian England, especially social reform and literature. . . . Melnyk's description and analyses of the changing conditions and currents of Victorian Christianity make this volume useful for many reasons. It is highly recommended to academic libraries of all kinds.