''The Nineteenth Century'' was a British monthly
literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and lett ...
founded in 1877 by
James Knowles. It is regarded by historians as 'one of the most important and distinguished monthlies of serious thought in the last quarter of the nineteenth century'.
Editorial policy
The magazine was designed as an 'utterly impartial' forum for debate and discussion among leading intellectuals. Many of the early supporters and contributors to ''The Nineteenth Century'' were members of the
Metaphysical Society, of which Knowles had been secretary. The first issue, for example, contained pieces by former Society members
Lord Tennyson,
William Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
and
Cardinal Manning. It quickly became one of the most successful literary magazines in Britain, selling over 20,000 copies a month by early 1878.
An important part of the magazine's success was its regular 'Modern Symposium' section. This offered a series of essays and responses from different authors on subjects such as science or religion, collected together and published as a single structured debate. In this way the magazine quickly gained a reputation as a responsive forum where its contributors were given freedom to disagree without editorial interference. However, the magazine's focus on publishing established literary figures meant that it often excluded younger or unknown writers. Although it generally lived up to its reputation as a 'neutral ground', the magazine did at times abandon impartiality to support positions dear to Knowles himself. For example, it was famously at the forefront of the campaign to prevent the building of a
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover ...
between Britain and France in 1882.
''The Nineteenth Century and After''
In 1901 the title was changed to ''The Nineteenth Century and After''. To emphasise this change, a two-headed
Janus-symbol of an old man and a young woman (the former representing the nineteenth century and the latter the twentieth) was added to the cover. Knowles was prevented from simply renaming it ''The Twentieth Century'' because the copyright to that name was already owned by someone else, who allegedly demanded a ransom for the rights to use it.
Knowles remained editor until his death, in 1908. During the twentieth century the magazine became more politically right-wing.
The magazine's title was finally changed to ''The Twentieth Century'' in 1951; it ceased publication in 1968.
Editors
1877-1908 -
James Thomas Knowles
1908-1919 - William Wray Skilbeck
1919-1925 - George A.B. Dewar
1925-1930 -
Carrol Romer
1930-1934 - Charles Reginald Schiller Harris
1934-1938 -
Arnold Wilson
Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson (18 July 1884 – 31 May 1940) was a British soldier, colonial administrator, Conservative politician, writer and editor. Wilson served under Percy Cox, the colonial administrator of Mesopotamia (Mandatory Iraq) ...
1938-1946 -
Frederick Augustus Voigt
1947-1952 - Michael Goodwin
1952-195? - Bernard Wall
During the magazine's final years it was run 'on a voluntary basis' by an editorial board chaired by Eirene Skilbeck, daughter of William Skilbeck and granddaughter of James Knowles.
['Obituary: Eirene Skilbeck', ''The Times'', 28 Oct. 1969, p. 12.]
References
External links
Examples of ''The Nineteenth Century'' at ''The Internet Archive''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nineteenth Century
Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom
Defunct literary magazines published in the United Kingdom
Magazines established in 1877
Magazines disestablished in 1972
1877 establishments in the United Kingdom