This first book-length study of Ford Madox Brown's Manchester murals (1878-93) reassesses the critical significance of the most important public art project in late nineteenth-century Britain. Examining each of the twelve murals in detail, it demonstrates how they responded to political disputes about the nature of history, culture and social life.

The first part of the book challenges existing readings of Brown by illustrating how his ideas about art relate to Thomas Carlyle's unusual modelling of history. It goes on to explain why Brown wanted to imagine a new type of painting operating at the intersection of Hogarthian populism and socially engaged romanticism. The second part traces the ramifications of this way of thinking about art practice by presenting a detailed reading of the conception, production and critical reception of the Manchester mural programme.

Throughout, the book advances a larger argument about the nature of Brown's cultural and political interests. Rather than simply reproducing liberalism in artistic form, Brown designed the mural programme to address contemporary questions: what is the nature of historical life? How do we distinguish between cultural value and economic value? How do we share human experience? For readers with an interest in the history of Victorian culture and intellectual history, Ford Madox Brown, the Manchester murals and the matter of history is packed with rewarding observations and analyses.