The ''Quarterly Review'' was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967. It was referred to as ''The London Quarterly Review'', as reprinted by Leonard Scott, for an American edition.

Early years

Initially, the ''Quarterly'' was set up primarily to counter the influence on public opinion of the ''

Edinburgh Review The ''Edinburgh Review'' is the title of four distinct intellectual and cultural magazines. The best known, longest-lasting, and most influential of the four was the third, which was published regularly from 1802 to 1929. ''Edinburgh Review'', ...

''. Its first editor, William Gifford, was appointed by George Canning, at the time Foreign Secretary, later Prime Minister. Early contributors included Secretaries of the Admiralty John Wilson Croker and Sir John Barrow, Poet Laureate Robert Southey, poet-novelist

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

, Italian exile Ugo Foscolo, Gothic novelist Charles Robert Maturin, and the essayist

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

. Under Gifford, the journal took the Canningite liberal-conservative position on matters of domestic and foreign policy, if only inconsistently. It opposed major political reforms, but it supported the gradual abolition of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, moderate law reform, humanitarian treatment of criminals and the insane, and the liberalizing of trade. In a series of articles in its pages, Southey advocated a progressive philosophy of social reform. Because two of his key writers, Scott and Southey, were opposed to Catholic emancipation, Gifford did not permit the journal to take a clear position on that issue. Reflecting divisions in the Conservative party itself, under its third editor, John Gibson Lockhart, the ''Quarterly'' became less consistent in its political philosophy. While Croker continued to represent the Canningites and Peelites, the party's liberal wing, it also found a place for the more extremely conservative views of Lords Eldon and Wellington. During its early years, reviews of new works were sometimes remarkably long. That of

Henry Koster Henry Koster (born Hermann Kosterlitz, May 1, 1905 – September 21, 1988) was a German-born film director. He was the husband of actress Peggy Moran. Early life Koster was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, Germany. He was introduced to cin ...

's ''Travels in Brazil'' (1816) ran to forty-three pages.

Controversial reviews

Typical of early nineteenth-century journals, reviewing in the ''Quarterly'' was highly politicized and on occasion excessively dismissive. Writers and publishers known for their Unitarian or radical views were among the early journal's main targets. Prominent victims of scathing reviews included Irish novelist Lady Morgan (Sydney Owenson), English poet and essayist

Walter Savage Landor Walter Savage Landor (30 January 177517 September 1864) was an English writer, poet, and activist. His best known works were the prose ''Imaginary Conversations,'' and the poem "Rose Aylmer," but the critical acclaim he received from contempora ...

, as well as English novelist

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

and her husband

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

. In an 1817 article, John Wilson Croker attacked John Keats in a review of '' Endymion'' for his association with

Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...

and the so-called Cockney School of poetry. Shelley blamed Croker's article for bringing about the death of the seriously ill poet, 'snuffed out', in Byron's ironic phrase, 'by an article'. In 1816,

reviewed his own, but anonymously published, Tales of My Landlord, partly to deflect suspicion that he was the author; he proved one of the book's harshest critics. Scott was also the author of a favourable review of

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

's '' Emma''.

Nineteenth-century editors

* William Gifford (February 1809 – December 1824. Vol. 1, Number 1 – Vol. 31, Number 61) * John Taylor Coleridge (March 1825 – December 1825. Vol. 31, Number 62 – Vol. 33, Number 65) * John Gibson Lockhart (March 1826 – June 1853. Vol. 33, Number 66 – Vol. 93, Number 185) * Whitwell Elwin (September 1853 – July 1860. Vol. 93, Number 186 – Vol. 108, Number 215) *William Macpherson (October 1860 – January 1867. Vol. 108, Number 216 – Vol. 122, Number 243) * William Smith (April 1867 – July 1893, Vol. 122, Number 244 – Vol. 177, Number 353) *John Murray IV (October 1893 – January 1894. Vol. 177, Number 354 – Vol. 178, Number 355) * Rowland Edmund Prothero (April 1894 – January 1899. Vol. 178, Number 356 – Vol. 189, Number 377) * George Walter Prothero (April 1899 – October 1900. Vol. 189, Number 378 – Vol. 192, Number 384)Walter E. Houghton (ed.), ''The Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals 1824–1900'', 5 vols. (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1966–87), Vol. 1.

References

External links

* !-- http://www.rc.umd.edu/reference/qr/ -->https://romantic-circles.org/reference/qr/ The ''Quarterly Review''Archive at Romantic Circles by University of Colorado Boulder
The ''Quarterly Review''
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{Authority control 1809 establishments in England 1967 disestablishments in England Quarterly magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1809 Magazines disestablished in 1967 Magazines published in London George Canning

Early years

Controversial reviews

Nineteenth-century editors

References

Further reading

External links