WALTER L. ARNSTEIN - The Bradlaugh Case. A Study in Late Victorian Opinion and Politics

London England, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1965. First Edition, Binding: Cloth, Near Fine/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall Harback Hardback. Tiny dye mark to bottom edge of front of D/J. Price clipped to D/J. Ought Charles Bradlaugh, the notorious atheist, political radical and advocate of birth control, be permitted to take his seat as a Member of Parliament? This question agitated British political and religious leaders for more than half a decade (1880-1886). It created an ethical dilemma for Gladstonian Liberals, a political opportunity for Conservatives like Lord Randolph Churchill, a challenge for irish Nationalists like Charles Stewart Parnell, and a test of perseverance for Charles Bradlaugh himself. Drawing on unpublished manuscripts as well as one parliamentary debates and contemporary newspapers and journals, the author provides the first scholarly examination of this cause celebre. As well as giving a narrative of the events, he analyses the reaction of the various political parties and religious denominations and reinterprets the roles of Gladstone, Manning, and others. Illustrated. 348 pp.