The author reconstructs the life, writings, and character of a notable late‑Victorian critic and essayist, tracing family origins, schooling, Oxford years, and professional life in London. Chapters combine chronological biography with close readings of early essays, the philosophical novel Marius the Epicurean, and later critical pieces, supported by correspondence and recollections from friends and relatives. The study highlights aesthetic doctrines, religious inclinations, stylistic traits, and personal habits, linking intellectual development to social milieu and assessing contemporary reception while sketching the subject’s temperament and manner.