John Stuart Mill Victorian Firebrand

Description:

BOOK REVIEW

JOHN STUART MILL: Victorian Firebrand

By

Richard Reeves

Atlantic Books

www.groveatlantic.co.uk

ISBN: 978 1 84354 643 6

J S MILL – “The most open-minded man in England”

A GREAT BOOK ABOUT A GREAT MAN

An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers

Although he was a Liberal, don’t get confused by his ‘open-mindedness’ when leading Victorian Liberal William Gladstone labelled the great John Stuart Mill. We suspect all students will have tremendous affection for Mill even though they may not care for liberals.

In this short review, we will concentrate on the value of the book for the jurisprudence undergraduate because Richard Reeves has produced the first proper and worthwhile study of Mill for 50 years which will be of great benefit to scholars aiming for a ‘First’.

The Content of the Book

The first thing to do is look at the index at the back because the fifteen chapters, plus the prologue and epilogue, give you the essence of the man as a human being whilst some careful cross-referencing with the likes of Bentham and Co. will give you your legal learning and quotes.

Look specifically at chapters 11(‘On Liberty’) and 12 (‘To Hell I Will Go’) because Reeves offers some useful twenty-first century quotable insights into our “Victorian Firebrand” and some of his overt political failings such as his opposition to the introduction of the secret ballot!