In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, writers and some politicians increasingly called for wider democracy.
Edinburgh Review in Scotland
London’s supremacy as the centre of literary achievement was rivaled by Edinburgh, the seat of a flourishing university. A group in that Scottish city, determined to be help bring about change, made plans for a new publication.
On October 10, 1802, the Edinburgh Review quarterly published its first edition. Its founders were Francis Jeffrey, Henry Erskine, and Sydney Smith. The publishers were Constable in Edinburgh and Longman’s in London. The name was not new, as about fifty years earlier an Edinburgh Review appeared, but failed after two editions.
The founders aspired to enlighten the minds of the public through highly politicized reviews. They wanted to promote what they believed to be more liberal and popular systems of government. Francis Jeffrey, a strong supporter of the Whig party, exercised immense influence on periodical literature as editor from 1803 to 1829.
Henry Brougham, Francis Horner, Sydney Smith, Thomas Macaulay, William Thackeray, Thomas Carlyle, and Walter Scott (briefly) were among the contributors.
Literary Criticisms and Reform Advocates
The Edinburgh Review’s power was quickly acknowledged. It set the standard for British political and literary criticism. Liberally paid for their literary reviews and opinions, its contributors were men of strong convictions. Sometimes anonymously, writers attempted to bring about change through scathing comments on social and political conditions.
Over the years, it was a strong advocate of reforms in church, state, parliament, and popular education. It called for the end of slavery and the extension of suffrage. The Edinburgh Review, less radical in its later years, survived until 1929.
Quarterly Review in London, England
In opposition to the vigorous Edinburgh Review, the English Tories established their own publication, the Quarterly Review. First published in London in 1809, its first editor, William Gifford, was appointed by George Canning, the Foreign Minister.
Early contributors included Tory politicians George Canning, and Robert Cecil, and authors Robert Southey, Sir Walter Scott, William Wordsworth, and John W. Croker. Jane Austen’s career was launched at the Quarterly Review. Published by the celebrated London publisher John Murray, it became one of the most important journals of the 19th Century.
Old Principles Defended
Politically, the Quarterly Review defended the old principles and preservation of the status quo. Writers such as Charles Dickens and Percy Bysshe Shelley who favored political reform received hostile reviews of their work. A blistering review by Croker of John Keats’ “Endymion” was blamed for the poet’s death.
The Quarterly Review supported trade liberalization, moderate law reform. It was an advocate of humanitarian treatment for criminals and the insane and the gradual abolition of slavery. John G. Lockhart, son-in-law of Sir Walter Scott was editor during a very successful period. Publication of the Quarterly Review stopped in 1967.
Sources:
The World’s History and Its Makers by E. Sanderson, J. P. Lamberton, J. McGovern, O. H. G. Leigh, University History Publishing Company 1901
Reviews and Magazines in the Early Years of the Nineteenth Century
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