The Modern British Periodical

THE MODERN BRITISH PERIODICAL The modern periodical burst upon the world with a singular glory at the very beginning of the nineteenth century. The three outstanding periodicals were the Edinburgh (1802-1929), the Quarterly (1809), and Blackwood (1817).

The story of the founding of the Edinburgh is recorded in full in Cockburn's Life of Lord Jeffrey, 1852. A group of young men, among whom were Sydney Smith, Henry Brougham and Francis Jeffrey, resolved, after some consultation together, to start a new magazine to be called the Edinburgh Review, the aim being "to erect a higher standard of merit, and secure a bolder and a purer taste in literature, and to apply philosophical princi ples and the maxims of truth and humanity to politics." The venture took shape and the first number appeared in October 1802. "The effect," says Cockburn, "was electrical. It was an entire and instant change of everything that the public had been accustomed to in that sort of composition. The learning of the new journal, its talent, its spirit, its writing, its independence, were all new." The Edinburgh Review ceased publication in 1929.

The Tory spirit was roused to action by the Edinburgh. To maintain their principles the Quarterly and Blackwood came out as rivals. These three journals together maintained the political and literary note of the founders, the political predominating.

The important monthlies are the Dublin Review (1836), the Fortnightly Review (1865) established as a kind of English Revue des deux Mondes, the Contemporary Review (1866), the Nineteenth Century (1877) which took the foremost place in the political and literary field (it was renamed in 1901 the Nineteenth Century and After),the National Review (1883) ; of recent period icals the London Mercury (1920) and Life and Letters (1928) monthlies, and the Round Table ( 91 0), the Criterion (1922) and The Review of English Studies (1925), quarterlies, take a leading place.

The Popular Magazine.--In

the next fifty years the crowd of magazines hurtle against each other on the bookstall and in reading-rooms. No sooner has one outstripped the other in popu larity than another starts in the race seeking to surpass its rival in excellence and dignity. Their names seem legion and the hetero geneity bewildering. Chambers Journal (1832), All the Year Round (1859), the Cornhill (186o), Macmillan's Magazine (186o), Temple Bar 0860 and Longman's Magazine (1883 1905) are typical.

The beginnings of these magazines have resolved round the question of supply and demand. Competition between publishers was now alive and active. All the Year Round had Charles Dickens as editor; Thackeray, David Masson, and George Augus tus Sala edited three others. Since their object was to beguile the leisure hours of the public, fiction was preferred to politics.

The Cornhill, the most characteristic example of the spirit of modernity that was creeping in, was launched by Mr. George Smith in 186o with the idea of making the popular serial the chief attraction. Though the plan cannot be claimed as original, the enterprise necessary to carry it out belongs to Mr. Smith. His scheme was the first definite move in this direction. The novelty of it "lay in uniting the popular lure of the serial with the literary work of the more serious reviews." A pleasant record of the founding of this magazine is given in the History of the House of Smith, Elder.

Children's Magazines.

An outstanding feature of the late 19th century is the development of literature for the young, prin cipally due to the spread of education. In a world bent on intro ducing new methods and making experiments in the upbringing of children, with encyclopaedias and dictionaries expressly written that they may be comprehended by them, it is not surprising that the serial for boys and girls should also fill an important niche. The best magazines contain a mixture of fiction, science and prac tical suggestions to young people in a variety of crafts which might appeal when grammar becomes tedious. The credit for originating this special kind of literature seems to belong to the New World. The Young Misses' Magazine (1806) of Brooklyn apparently led the way, and was then followed by many others until in the seven ties of the nineteenth century the avalanche of printed matter began to move forward and has never ceased to advance. The first to appear were Little Folks (1871), The Boys' Own Paper (1879) and The Girls' Own Paper (1880). Among the most popu lar monthlies in England are My Magazine (1914), formerly the Children's Magazine (i91I), ably edited by Arthur Mee, and Child Education (1924). In the United States St. Nicholas (5873) and Youth's Companion (1827) call for mention.