ABSTRACT
Essays and Reviews were originated by a Broad Churchman of the second rank, Henry Bristow Wilson. In 1855 Wilson was drawn into a publishing venture of the house of John W. Parker and Son. Williams continued to be controversial. In 1857 he published a prize-winning essay on Christianity and Hinduism, a pioneering effort in comparative religion which treated the Hindu scriptures with as much respect as the Bible. In 1858 he was presented to the college living of Broad Chalke, but he did not leave Lampeter until 1862. Christianity must be separated from all relation with physical things; as a purely spiritual religion, it will triumph by its moral effects. Wilson was offered the editorship of Oxford Essays, which appeared along with Cambridge Essays from 1855 to 1858. His editorship involved merely collecting the articles, with no attempt at editorial control, a procedure later adopted by Essays and Reviews.
