This work investigates the complex intersection between Utilitarian philosophy, classical political economy, and the aesthetic output of Victorian writers. Kathleen Blake analyzes how the principles of Jeremy Bentham and his successors were integrated into, or contested by, the literary imagination of the nineteenth century. By examining the tension between economic utility and human value, the author provides a framework for understanding how Victorian authors navigated the shifting social and industrial landscape of their era.

Scholars frequently cite this text for its nuanced approach to the relationship between nineteenth-century economic theory and narrative form. The prose is noted for its academic rigor and its ability to synthesize disparate intellectual traditions for students of Victorian literature.