The Times on the American War: And Other Essays

The biographer and writer on philosophy, ethics and literature Leslie Stephen (1832-1904) was educated at Eton, King’s College, London, and then Trinity College, Cambridge, where he remained as a fellow and a tutor for his entire career. He served as the first editor (1885-91) of the Dictionary of National Biography and in 1871 he became editor of the Cornhill Magazine. In this short piece, published in 1865, Stephen takes issue with the portrayal of the American Civil War (1861-5) by The Times. Having travelled to the United States himself in 1863, Stephen argues that the newspaper’s depiction of the events in America is inaccurate, and both misinforms the public in Britain and damages Britain’s reputation abroad. Also included in this reissue is a short article on the poet John Byrom (1692-1763), and an obituary of Henry Sidgwick (1838-1900), Stephen’s personal friend.