About This Book
A compact life-study follows a controversial radical and freethinker from modest family roots through apprenticeship, marriage, and work as a publisher and editor. It describes the causes that led to repeated prosecutions and imprisonment, his public lectures and outspoken sceptical and political advocacy, and the personal costs of that campaign. Individual chapters focus on parentage and early training, the printing and publishing controversies, his atheist and editorial positions, and his final illness and character. The account is interwoven with the author’s personal recollections and reflections on the subject’s motives and legacy.