Edinburgh Review
Encyclopedia
The Edinburgh Review, founded in 1802, was one of the most influential British magazines of the 19th century. It ceased publication in 1929. The magazine took its Latin motto judex damnatur ubi nocens absolvitur (the judge is condemned when the guilty is acquitted) from Publilius Syrus
.
In 1984, the Scottish cultural magazine New Edinburgh Review, originally founded in 1969, explicitly adopted the title Edinburgh Review from issue 67/8, taking the motto To gather all the rays of culture into one. It is still published and a member of the Eurozine
network. The most famous issues of the New Edinburgh Review were the 1974 issues, supervised by C. K. Maisels, that discussed the philosophy of Antonio Gramsci
.
An earlier short-lived magazine with similar purposes, Edinburgh Magazine and Review, was published monthly between 1773–1776.
, Sydney Smith
and Henry Brougham, it was published by Archibald Constable
in quarterly issues until 1929. The magazine began as a literary and political review. Under its first permanent editor, Francis Jeffrey
(the very first number was edited by Sydney Smith), it was a strong supporter of the Whig
party and laissez-faire
politics, and regularly called for political reform. Its main rival was the Quarterly Review
which supported the Tories. The magazine was also noted for its attacks on the Lake Poets
, particularly William Wordsworth
.
It was owned at one point by John Stewart, whose wife Louisa Hooper Stewart (1818-1918) was an early advocate of women’s suffrage, having been educated at the Quaker school of Newington Academy for Girls
.
Publilius Syrus
Publilius Syrus, a Latin writer of maxims, flourished in the 1st century BC. He was a Syrian who was brought as a slave to Italy, but by his wit and talent he won the favor of his master, who freed and educated him....
.
In 1984, the Scottish cultural magazine New Edinburgh Review, originally founded in 1969, explicitly adopted the title Edinburgh Review from issue 67/8, taking the motto To gather all the rays of culture into one. It is still published and a member of the Eurozine
Eurozine
Eurozine is a network of European cultural magazines based in Vienna, linking up more than 70 partner magazines and institutions from 34 European countries...
network. The most famous issues of the New Edinburgh Review were the 1974 issues, supervised by C. K. Maisels, that discussed the philosophy of Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Gramsci
Antonio Gramsci was an Italian writer, politician, political philosopher, and linguist. He was a founding member and onetime leader of the Communist Party of Italy and was imprisoned by Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime...
.
An earlier short-lived magazine with similar purposes, Edinburgh Magazine and Review, was published monthly between 1773–1776.
19th century
Started on 10 October 1802 by Francis JeffreyFrancis Jeffrey
Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey was a Scottish judge and literary critic.He was born in Edinburgh, the son of a clerk in the Court of Session. After attending the Royal High School for six years, he studied at the University of Glasgow from 1787 to May 1789, and at Queen's College, Oxford, from...
, Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith
Sydney Smith was an English writer and Anglican cleric. -Life:Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith and Maria Olier , who suffered from epilepsy...
and Henry Brougham, it was published by Archibald Constable
Archibald Constable
Archibald Constable was a Scottish publisher, bookseller and stationer.He was born at Carnbee, Fife, as the son of the land steward to the Earl of Kellie. In 1788 Archibald was apprenticed to Peter Hill, an Edinburgh bookseller, but in 1795 he started in business for himself as a dealer in rare...
in quarterly issues until 1929. The magazine began as a literary and political review. Under its first permanent editor, Francis Jeffrey
Francis Jeffrey
Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey was a Scottish judge and literary critic.He was born in Edinburgh, the son of a clerk in the Court of Session. After attending the Royal High School for six years, he studied at the University of Glasgow from 1787 to May 1789, and at Queen's College, Oxford, from...
(the very first number was edited by Sydney Smith), it was a strong supporter of the Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
party and laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
politics, and regularly called for political reform. Its main rival was the Quarterly Review
Quarterly Review
The Quarterly Review was a literary and political periodical founded in March 1809 by the well known London publishing house John Murray. It ceased publication in 1967.-Early years:...
which supported the Tories. The magazine was also noted for its attacks on the Lake Poets
Lake Poets
The Lake Poets are a group of English poets who all lived in the Lake District of England at the turn of the nineteenth century. As a group, they followed no single "school" of thought or literary practice then known, although their works were uniformly disparaged by the Edinburgh Review...
, particularly William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
.
It was owned at one point by John Stewart, whose wife Louisa Hooper Stewart (1818-1918) was an early advocate of women’s suffrage, having been educated at the Quaker school of Newington Academy for Girls
Newington Academy for Girls
The Newington Academy for Girls, also known as Newington College for Girls, was a Quaker school established in 1824 in Stoke Newington, then north of London. In a time when girls' educational opportunities were limited, it offered a wide range of subjects "on a plan in degree differing from any...
.
Notable contributors
- Thomas ArnoldThomas ArnoldDr Thomas Arnold was a British educator and historian. Arnold was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement...
- Richard Harris BarhamRichard Harris BarhamRichard Harris Barham was an English cleric of the Church of England, novelist, and humorous poet. He was known better by his nom de plume Thomas Ingoldsby.-Life:Richard Harris Barham was born in Canterbury...
- Thomas BrownThomas Brown (philosopher)Thomas Brown FRSE was a Scottish metaphysician.He was born at Kirkmabreck, Kirkcudbright, where his father Rev. Samuel Brown was parish clergyman. He was a wide reader and an eager student...
- Thomas CarlyleThomas CarlyleThomas Carlyle was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era.He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was...
- Ugo FoscoloUgo FoscoloUgo Foscolo , born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and poet.-Biography:Foscolo was born on the Ionian island of Zakynthos...
- Henry HallamHenry HallamHenry Hallam was an English historian.-Life:The only son of John Hallam, canon of Windsor and dean of Bristol, Henry Hallam was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, graduating in 1799...
- William Hamilton
- Abraham HaywardAbraham HaywardAbraham Hayward was an English man of letters.-Life:He was son of Joseph Hayward, and was born in Wilton, near Salisbury, Wiltshire....
- William HazlittWilliam HazlittWilliam Hazlitt was an English writer, remembered for his humanistic essays and literary criticism, and as a grammarian and philosopher. He is now considered one of the great critics and essayists of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. Yet his work is...
- Felicia HemansFelicia Hemans-Ancestry:Felicia Heman's paternal grandfather was George Browne of Passage, co. Cork, Ireland; her maternal grandparents were Elizabeth Haydock Wagner of Lancashire and Benedict Paul Wagner , wine importer at 9 Wolstenholme Square, Liverpool. Family legend gave the Wagners a Venetian origin;...
- James Henry Leigh Hunt
- George Cornewall LewisGeorge Cornewall LewisSir George Cornewall Lewis, 2nd Baronet PC was a British statesman and man of letters.-Family:He was born in London, the son of Thomas Frankland Lewis of Harpton Court, Radnorshire and his wife Harriet Cornewall...
- Thomas Babington Macaulay
- Sir James Mackintosh
- John Stuart MillJohn Stuart MillJohn Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...
- Robert MontgomeryRobert Montgomery (poet)Robert Montgomery was an English poet, the son of Robert Gomery. He was educated at a private school in Bath, Somerset, and founded an unsuccessful weekly paper in that city. In 1828 he published The Omni-presence of the Deity, which hit popular religious sentiment so exactly that it ran through...
- John PlayfairJohn PlayfairJohn Playfair FRSE, FRS was a Scottish scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is perhaps best known for his book Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth , which summarized the work of James Hutton...
- Henry ReeveHenry ReeveHenry Reeve was an English journalist.-Biography:He was the younger son of Henry Reeve, a Whig physician and writer from Norwich, and was born at Norwich. He was educated at the Norwich grammar school under Edward Valpy. During his holidays he saw a good deal of the young John Stuart Mill...
- Henry Enfield RoscoeHenry Enfield RoscoeSir Henry Enfield Roscoe, FRS was an English chemist. He is particularly noted for early work on vanadium and for photochemical studies.- Life and work :...
- Sismondi
- Bertrand RussellBertrand RussellBertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
- Charles William RussellCharles William RussellCharles William Russell was an Irish Roman Catholic clergyman and scholar.-Early life:He was born at Killough, County Down, Ireland, a descendant of the Russells who held the Barony of Killough of Quoniamstown and Ballystrew.He received his early education at Drogheda grammar school and at...
- Sir Walter Scott
- Arthur Penrhyn StanleyArthur Penrhyn StanleyArthur Penrhyn Stanley was an English churchman, Dean of Westminster, known as Dean Stanley. His position was that of a Broad Churchman and he was the author of works on Church History.-Life and times:...
Further reading
- Shattock, Joanne. Politics and Reviewers: the Edinburgh and the Quarterly in the Early Victorian Age. London, Leicester, and New York: Leicester University Press, 1989.
- Christie, William. The Edinburgh Review in the Literary Culture of Romantic Britain. London, Pickering & Chatto, 2009.