ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines how the pervasive presence of religious mission in society informed literature’s representation of reform movements, and how the writings of missionary and reform movements contributed to the development of literary genres. It explores reform, starting with reform on a more domestic level – the evangelical reform of morals and manners – and moving on to more overtly political reform movements. The book provides material reflecting the experiences of, and the discourses around, children, women and men in the mission field. It is concerned with the reform of private life in England. The book discusses the extent of religiously-inspired activity within major social reform campaigns; the organisation of religious individuals in charity and the social purity campaign; and the religious discourse at the heart of political groups such as the Christian Socialists and the Suffragettes.
