This work places the major features of the life and work of Alfred Marshall in the context of the history of economic thought as it affected the institutional setting of late 19th and early 20th century Britain. The biography also sheds light on Marshall's decision to study economics, after dropping mathematics, philosophy and psychology in turn, and the background to his important books, including the Principles of Economics, as well as his government advice over three decades. More than just the life of a major economist, it also deals with economics and mathematics education at Cambridge, contemporary controversies over socialism, imperialism, free trade, religious belief, social welfare and the women's movement.
