SOURCE: Humpherys, Anne. Review of The Idea of Poverty, by Gertrude Himmelfarb. Victorian Studies 28, no. 4 (summer 1985): 678-80.

In the following review, Humpherys asserts that The Idea of Poverty is an important study both beautifully written and impressive in scope. Humpherys, however, raises questions about Himmelfarb's methodological and theoretical approach to her subject.

[The Idea of Poverty,] is an important study of a central idea in modern culture written by a distinguished scholar. The scope of the book is impressive, ranging over dozens of texts in a two hundred-year period. It is also beautifully written, and for this reason alone is a pleasure to read. No literary scholar or historian will be able to ignore The Idea of Poverty; it will be quoted, added to, and argued with, but the inclusiveness of the research and the detail of the analysis guarantee its eminence for the foreseeable future.

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