Richard
Holt Hutton was born in Leeds in 1826. He
attended University College, London, where he met and formed a lifelong
friendship with Walter Bagehot.
Hutton originally planned to become a Unitarian
minister but in 1855 he joined Bagehot in editing The National
Review. In 1861 Hutton became joint editor and part owner of The
Spectator. Over the next few years Hutton mainly contributed
reviews of contemporary literature.