Leslie Mitchell is Emeritus Fellow of University College, Oxford, and the author of Bulwer Lytton: The Rise and Fall of a Victorian Man of Letters.

• Illustrations; Introduction; 1 The Whigs; 2 Circles of Acquaintance; 3 London; 4 The Country; 5 The French Connection; 6 The March of Mind; 7 Unbelievers; 8 History and Politics; 9 Enemies; 10 Disappearance; Notes; Bibliography.

Mitchell's book is a kind of spin-off from his outstanding biography Melbourne-mature reflections on the nature of Whiggism. It is written, with a splendid sense of balance, at times the author clearly with whig self-satisfaction, at others a reluctant admirer.

Leslie Mitchell is Emeritus Fellow of University College, Oxford, and the author of Bulwer Lytton: The Rise and Fall of a Victorian Man of Letters.

• Illustrations; Introduction; 1 The Whigs; 2 Circles of Acquaintance; 3 London; 4 The Country; 5 The French Connection; 6 The March of Mind; 7 Unbelievers; 8 History and Politics; 9 Enemies; 10 Disappearance; Notes; Bibliography.

Mitchell's book is a kind of spin-off from his outstanding biography Melbourne-mature reflections on the nature of Whiggism. It is written, with a splendid sense of balance, at times the author clearly with whig self-satisfaction, at others a reluctant admirer.

Leslie Mitchell is Emeritus Fellow of University College, Oxford, and the author of Bulwer Lytton: The Rise and Fall of a Victorian Man of Letters.

• Illustrations; Introduction; 1 The Whigs; 2 Circles of Acquaintance; 3 London; 4 The Country; 5 The French Connection; 6 The March of Mind; 7 Unbelievers; 8 History and Politics; 9 Enemies; 10 Disappearance; Notes; Bibliography.

Mitchell's book is a kind of spin-off from his outstanding biography Melbourne-mature reflections on the nature of Whiggism. It is written, with a splendid sense of balance, at times the author clearly with whig self-satisfaction, at others a reluctant admirer.