Mary Augusta Ward , more familiarly known as Mrs. Humphry Ward, became one of the most famous novelists of her generation as a result of the success of her third novel, Robert Elsmere , published in 1888. The book sold more than 30,000 copies in England and over 200,000 copies in America in its first year of publication.1 Her controversial novel drew on the life and work of her friend, the Oxford philosopher, Thomas Hill Green and attracted a great deal of attention in religious, social and political circles as the plot revolved around the loss of faith of a young Anglican cleric and his evangelical wife, Catherine. Although Mary acknowledged that some of the characters were drawn from her renowned Arnold family members and several of the Oxford intellectuals alongside whom she lived, socialised and studied as a young woman, she stated frequently in her writings that Green had been her main inspiration for the novel.2 This present book foregrounds the unique insight that Maryâs life and work offers; demonstrating how she continued to draw on, explore and disseminate Greenian philosophical ideas and theories to access and shape the religious, social and political debates, issues and events that dominated the late-Victorian and Edwardian era.
T. H. Greenâs legacy is notable for a variety of reasons. Some consider him the first professional philosopher, as he advocated the need for rigorous training within the discipline of philosophy.3 He was also the first member of the Oxford City Council elected in 1876 as a ratepayer and not as a member of the University. For many commentators, Greenâs obscure philosophy formed the basis of what became the British idealist movement. At the time and since, Mary has been credited with providing the clearest portrayal of his ideas and theories as well as for her role in bringing his significance as a philosopher to the attention of the general public.4 It is a fitting testament to Maryâs success in negotiating the religious and gender conventions that excluded women from Oxford University, that historians and philosophers still regard Robert Elsmere as the novel which best epitomises the spiritual crisis that Green and his contemporaries feared was endangering the foundations of Victorian society.5 As an idealist philosopher, Greenâs primary concern was with societyâs coherence and its progression towards âSummum Bonumâ (the highest good).6 Through his sermons, he urged theologians and intellectuals to challenge dogmatic interpretations of the Christian doctrine actively and rigorously within the University in Oxford and wider afield. He believed that Christianity was not wholly dependent on the acceptance of the notion of miracle or revelation and God could be found ânot in word but in powerâ.7 He considered the family, the community and the state to be the forces through which politics, philosophy and theology operated as the âcommon goodâ in society for the benefit of all. Greenâs death in 1881 at only 45 years of age left his family and friends devastated. His loss, on both a personal and intellectual level was widely acknowledged as a tragedy by the Oxford community in which he lived and worked.8 His well-known dying words to his wife âlead a useful lifeâ echoed his raison dâĂȘtre and are said to have inspired many of his followers.9 The central message contained in Greenâs philosophy was that preaching and debating theology alone did not reveal God in your soul and that this could only be attained with sincerity and through an active life of charity.10
As an Arnold, Mary was ideally positioned to explore many of the religious, social and political events and issues that were at the centre of Greenâs life and work; Christianity and the nature of miracle , education, family, democracy, law and temperance .11 The Arnolds are collectively recognised as being representative of the Victorian ideal of âthe cultivated mind and conscienceâ.12 Maryâs father, Thomas (Tom), and her uncle who was the poet, Matthew Arnold , were sons of Dr. Arnold ; famous for his transformation of education in Rugby School and inclusion in Lytton Stracheyâs biographical sketches of important Victorians.13 The Arnolds joined forces through marriage with other reforming and intellectual dynasties of the era; Dr. Arnold âs daughter, Jane, married the politician and reformer, W. E. Forster , Maryâs sister, Julia married into the Huxley family and Maryâs daughter, Janet, married into the Trevelyan family. Two of Maryâs other Arnold uncles also had high-profile careers in education; William Delafield was Director of Public Education in Punjab in India and Edward Penrose was an inspector of schools in England. While the achievements of the female members of her family have been completely overshadowed by the reputations of their male counterparts, Maryâs life and work, in particular, surpassed the legacies of any of the Arnold âcasteâ.14
Despite having no formal status as a student while living in Oxford, Mary found alternative strategies to pursue her education.15 Through her social connections as an Arnold and her academic talents, she had access to many of the leading Oxford dons and masters from Balliol , Lincoln and Brasenose Colleges; Mandell Creighton , Benjamin Jowett , Max MĂŒller , Mark Pattinson and J. R. Green , who all played significant roles in advising and supporting her studies in theology and Spanish history and language.16 After her marriage to a Brasenose College Fellow and tutor, Humphry Ward , in 1872, Mary became a close friend of T. H. Green and his wife, Charlotte and together with Louise Creighton , Bertha Johnson , Georgina MĂŒller , Clara Pater , Emily Francis Pattinson (later Emilia Dilke ) and Lavinia Talbot , they were at the forefront of the ground-breaking networks in the campaigns for higher education for women in Oxford University. These included the Lectures for Women committee , the Association for the Education of Women committee and the Somerville College committee .17 Mary also became the first woman examiner in modern languages at the Taylor Institute in Oxford University in the 1880s.18
Maryâs talent as a writer was multifaceted and reflected the range of her intellectual pursuits. She wrote twenty-five novels, a childrenâs book, several non-fiction books and plays, countless magazine and religious articles, acclaimed translations of Spanish and French works, biographies of her family and also critical prefaces published in the Haworth editions of the BrontĂ«sâ works and the preface to Beatrice Webb âs work, The Case for the Factory Acts (1901). A contemporary commentator, Stephen L. Gwynn, wrote that Maryâs writing âhad a high educational value; she was both qualified and predisposed to instructâ.19 Equally, Mary was highly effective in a practical capacity; she instigated and led many of the reforms that provided education for some of Londonâs poorest communities. She travelled widely across England and America, giving lectures to raise funds to sustain her social settlements and reforming activities; attending major events and high-profile dinners.20 Maryâs best-known reforming activities are University Hall and Marchmont Hall , the Passmore Edwards Settlement as well as her pioneering playgrounds and play centres for children in London.21 Mary was also involved in a range of political committees and organisations and these include the Womenâs Anti-Suffrage League (which later became the National League for Opposing Woman Suffrage); the National Union of Womenâs Workers ; the Joint Advisory Committee .
As a high-profile writer and reformer, Mary became well-connected and collaborated with prominent political and social figures in Britain, including W. E. Gladstone , Laura Lyttelton and the 11th Duke of Bedford . She also consorted with many leading politicia...