''The Cornhill Magazine'' (1860–1975) was a monthly Victorian

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

and literary journal named after the street address of the founding publisher Smith, Elder & Co. at 65 Cornhill in

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 ...

.Laurel Brake and Marysa Demoor, ''Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland''. Ghent: Academia Press and London: British Library, 2009. (p. 145). In the 1860s, under the editorship of

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his Satire, satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel ''Vanity Fair (novel), Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portra ...

, the paper's large circulation peaked around 110,000. Due to emerging competitors, circulation fell to 20,000 by 1870. The following year,

Leslie Stephen Sir Leslie Stephen (28 November 1832 – 22 February 1904) was an English author, critic, historian, biographer, mountaineer, and an Ethical Culture, Ethical movement activist. He was also the father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell and the ...

took over as editor. When Stephen left in 1882, circulation had further fallen to 12,000. ''The Cornhill'' was purchased by John Murray in 1912, and continued to publish issues until 1975.

History

''The Cornhill'' was founded by George Murray Smith in 1859, and the first issue displayed the cover date January 1860. A literary journal with articles on diverse subjects and serialisations of new

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s, it continued until 1975. Smith had hoped to gain some of the readership enjoyed by '' All the Year Round'', a similar magazine owned by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

; toward this end, he employed as editor William Thackeray, Dickens's great literary rival at the time. Subsequent editors included G. H. Lewes,

, Ronald Gorell Barnes, James Payn, Peter Quennell and Leonard Huxley. The magazine was initially successful, selling more issues than expected, but within a few years circulation dropped rapidly as it failed to keep pace with changes in popular taste. It also gained a reputation for rather safe, inoffensive content in the late

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

. A mark of the high regard in which it had been held was its publication of ''Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands'' by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. Stories were often illustrated by pre-eminent artists of the time, including

George du Maurier George Louis Palmella Busson du Maurier (6 March 1834 – 8 October 1896) was a Franco-British cartoonist and writer known for work in ''Punch (magazine), Punch'' and a Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Trilby (novel), Trilby'', featuring the char ...

, Edwin Landseer, Frederic Leighton and John Everett Millais. From 1917 the magazine was published by John Murray of Albemarle Street, London. Contributors to ''The Cornhill'' in the 1930s and 1940s included

Elizabeth Bowen Elizabeth Dorothea Cole Bowen ( ; 7 June 1899 – 22 February 1973) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish novelist and short story writer notable for her books about "The Big House in Ireland, the Big House" of Irish Landed gentry, landed ...

, Rose Macaulay, Mary Webb, D. K. Broster and Nugent Barker.Jack Adrian, "Introduction" to ''The Ash-Tree Press Annual Macabre 2003: Ghosts at 'The Cornhill' 1931–1939'' Ash-Tree Press, 2003, . 1862 CorhillMagazine January

Notable works published

Important works serialised in the magazine include the following: *'' Framley Parsonage'' by

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope ( ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire ...

*'' Wives and Daughters'' by Elizabeth Gaskell *'' The White Company'' and '' J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement'' by

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...

*'' Tithonus'' by Alfred Tennyson *'' Washington Square'' by Henry James *'' Culture and Anarchy'' by

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold (academic), Tom Arnold, literary professor, and Willi ...

*'' Romola'' by George Eliot *" The Lagoon" by Joseph Conrad *'' Far from the Madding Crowd'' by

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

*'' Unto This Last'' by

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

*'' Armadale'' by Wilkie Collins *'' Emma'' (Posthumous Fragment) by

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Nicholls (; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855), commonly known as Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ), was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë family, Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novel ...

*'' Daisy Miller'' by Henry James

References

External links

*
Issues available on Project Gutenberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornhill Magazine 1859 establishments in the United Kingdom 1975 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1859 Magazines disestablished in 1975 Smith, Elder & Co. books

History

Notable works published

Archives

References

Further reading

External links