A Micro-History of Victorian Liberal Parenting

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

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2. Introduction

   • Kevin A. Morrison

   Pages 1-16

3. At Variance: Father and Son

   • Kevin A. Morrison

   Pages 17-31

4. From “Unremitting Attention” to “Discreet Indifference”

   • Kevin A. Morrison

   Pages 33-47

5. Theory and Practice I, 1870–1883

   • Kevin A. Morrison

   Pages 49-67

6. Historical and Political Writings

   • Kevin A. Morrison

   Pages 69-84

7. Theory and Practice II, 1883–1900

   • Kevin A. Morrison

   Pages 85-102

8. Generations, 1900–1923

   • Kevin A. Morrison

   Pages 103-114

9. Conclusion

   • Kevin A. Morrison

   Pages 115-116

10. Back Matter

    Pages 117-118

    PDF

This book explores the theory and practice of Victorian liberal parenting by focusing on the life and writings of John Morley, one of Britain’s premier intellectuals and politicians. Reading Morley’s published works—much of which explicitly or implicitly addresses this relationship—with and against other writings of the period, and in the context of formative circumstances in his own life, it explores how living one’s life as a liberal extended to parenting. Although Victorian liberalism is currently undergoing reappraisal by scholars in the disciplines of literature and history, only a handful of studies have addressed its implications for intimate personal relations. None have considered the relationship of parent and child. Four of the chapters document how John Morley was parented and how he defined himself as a parent, based on newly available archival materials. Two other chapters analyze his many writings on or concerned with parenting and parenthood. 

• history of childhood
• Victorian liberalism
• political ideas
• Victorian studies
• familial relations

• Syracuse University, Syracuse, USA

  Kevin A. Morrison

Kevin A. Morrison is Assistant Professor of English at Syracuse University, USA. He is the author of Victorian Liberalism and Material Culture: Synergies of Thought and Place (2018) and editor of five books, including the forthcoming Walter Besant: The Business of Literature and the Pleasures of Reform.