He was a personal friend of Christina Rossetti and authored her biography, as well as those of fellow English poets Algernon Swinburne and Charles Whitehead, and published critical studies of their literary work.

[1] Bell suffered from poor health as a child, a fall resulting from a careless nurse having caused a minor paralytic stroke, and he was educated privately.

Though he was trained in preparation for a career in law at Cambridge University, Bell instead chose to study abroad and lived in Portugal, Spain, Italy, France and Madeira.

[5] Bell went on to become a contributor of articles, poems and letters to various Victorian era publications including The Fortnightly Review, The Pall Mall Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly, The Athenaeum, The Speaker, The Literary World, Temple Bar, The Lady's Realm, Black and White and The Academy.

He was a charter member of W. E. Forster's Imperial Federation Committee,[2] lectured for the Social and Political Education League and on four occasions contested St George Hanover Square (or the London County Council)[5] on behalf of the Liberal Party.