The literary work of Hutton (1826–97) went into almost total eclipse soon after the author's death in the last years of the nineteenth century. Students of the poets or novelists about whom Hutton wrote have usually, it is true, read some of his work—and in doing so have usually found something worthy of quotation. Occasionally, too, a scholar mentions Hutton with some of the high praise he deserves. But apart from specialists and historians of literature, Hutton's work has been almost totally neglected. The main reason for the neglect is probably that Hutton was too much of his age. His writing undeniably exposes to the first view a number of those Victorian characteristics against which the twentieth century has reacted with intense dislike. Hutton sometimes prettifies life; he sometimes gives the impression of bringing all life and literature to the arbitrament of narrow moral standards; and sometimes he is guilty of Victorian complacency—a fault no one in our day has been willing to condone. Yet the Victorian characteristics of Hutton's essays are not more than a superficial reflection of the climate of the age, and do small injury to the substance of his criticism. Since the Victorianisms are in manner rather than matter, and also since we are at present in the process of reacting against the very reaction against Victorianism, it is not unreasonable to expect that Hutton will take his place, before long, among the considerable literary figures of the nineteenth century. As for his controversial writing, though one cannot expect widespread interest in a “dated” controversy, one can expect that credit will eventually be given Hutton for the historical importance of his contribution to the main intellectual conflict of his period. The present article will examine Hutton's rôle in the controversy over science and religion, and his essays in literary criticism, and will attempt, in so doing, to form some estimate of the values and the limitations of these two main divisions of his work.