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Charles Kingsley (1819-75) is best remembered today as the author of the children's morality tale The Water Babies. This biography, written by his wife and published in 1877, draws on his letters to describe a man who saw his faith as being central to his life not only as an Anglican priest, but also as a historian, novelist and supporter of social reform. The two-volume work gives insights into the concerns and preoccupations of the intellectual classes of the mid-Victorian period. Volume 1 covers the period until 1856. We read Kingsley's precocious sermon written at the age of four, and his first attempts at poetry. As an adult he was keenly aware of the inequalities of Victorian life, and his support for the Chartists and social reform can be traced back to his witnessing the 1831 Bristol Riots, his vivid description of which is included here.