Historians have long noted the change in England's social and political life that occurred after the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. The Bloomsbury Group began to coalesce during the early years of Edwardian England, responding to the shifts that were occurring.

Among these writers, artists, critics, political scientists, and economists a shared sensibility and common ethos drove the group to scrutinize middle-class values and authority and to champion the priorities of the individual in the face of a stifling socioeconomic system. This study examines the relationship between the Bloomsbury intellectuals and the moral compass of society. Their philosophy influenced English history as each member, in their own way, sought to realize the civilization of their dreams, constantly fluctuating between the illusion of their ideals and the disillusion of reality.