This book contains the F.D. Maurice lectures for 1992 and six Gifford lectures of 1994. The Maurice lectures present the first account of Maurice as an Old Testament interpreter. The lectures on Smith concentrate upon his theological interests as an interpreter of the Bible, as well as the first account based on unpublished material of Smith's activity as a preacher. There is also a close investigation of Smith's links with Germany, and the influence upon him of Richard Rothe is investigated in some detail for the first time. One of the aims of the book is to show how, in their different ways, Maurice and Smith tried to relate the Old Testament to the two different periods of Victorian Britain in which they lived. The book also is intended as a further contribution to our knowledge of the history of biblical criticism in Britain.

Deborah Cameron teaches linguistics and women's studies at Oxford University, where she is Rupert Murdoch Professor of Language and Communication. Joan Scanlon taught women's studies at the Open University, and was Dean of Academic Affairs at London Contemporary Dance School. Both have been active in a range of feminist campaigns, and both served for ten years on Trouble and Strife's editorial collective.