The New Monthly Magazine
Encyclopedia
The New Monthly Magazine was a British monthly magazine published by Henry Colburn
between 1814 and 1884.
established The New Monthly Magazine and Universal Register as a "virulently Tory" competitor to Sir Richard Phillips
' Monthly Magazine
in 1814. "The double-column format and the comprehensive contents combined the Gentleman's Magazine with the Annual Register
".
In 1821 Colburn recast the magazine with a more literary and less political focus, retitling it The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal. Nominally edited by the poet Thomas Campbell, most editing fell to the sub-editor Cyrus Redding
. Colburn paid contributors well, and they included Sydney Morgan, Thomas Charles Morgan
, Peter George Patmore
, Mary Shelley
, Charles Lamb, Leigh Hunt
, Stendhal
, Thomas Noon Talfourd
, Letitia Elizabeth Landon
, Ugo Foscolo
, Richard Lalor Sheil
, Mary Russell Mitford
, Edward Bulwer
, James and Horace Smith
, and William Hazlitt
. Hazlitt's 'Table Talk' essays, begun in the London Magazine
, appeared in the New Monthly from late 1821, his essay 'The Fight' appeared in 1822, and his series 'Spirits of the Age' was later republished in book form as The Spirit of the Age (1825).
Charles Knight
's London Magazine
merged with the New Monthly in 1829, and in that year Richard Bentley
became Colburn's business partner. After Redding resigned in 1830, Campbell found himself unable to edit the magazine on his own and Samuel Carter Hall
became editor for a year. In 1831 the novelist Edward Bulwer
became editor, turning "the essentially apolitical, slightly Whiggish, literary journal into a vigorous radical organ shouting "Reform" at the top of its lungs." Hall, a political Conservative, had remained as sub-editor, and resisted Bulwer's efforts: Bulwer resigned in 1833, with Hall taking up the editorship once more. Contributors now included Catherine Gore
, Anna Maria Hall
, Felicia Hemans
, Caroline Norton, Thomas Haynes Bayley, and Theodore Edward Hook
.
In 1837 the magazine was retitled The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, to meet the challenge of Bentley's Miscellany
. A new editor, Theodore E. Hook
, published contributions from Leigh Hunt
, Douglas Jerrold, Frederick Marryat
, Frances Trollope
, Charles Robert Forrester
, and W. M. Thackeray. Upon Hook's death in 1841, Thomas Hood
was editor until 1843.
In Colburn sold the magazine for £2500 to William Harrison Ainsworth
, who had earlier edited Bentley's Miscellany and who now edited his own Ainsworth's Magazine. Ainsworth edited the New Monthly with his cousin William Francis Ainsworth
as sub-editor. From 1871–79 William Francis Ainsworth was editor.
Henry Colburn
Henry Colburn , British publisher, obtained his earliest experience of book-selling in London at the establishment of W...
between 1814 and 1884.
History
Colburn and Frederic ShoberlFrederic Shoberl
Frederic Shoberl , also known as Frederick Schoberl, was an English journalist, editor, translator and writer. Schoberl edited Forget Me Not, the first literary annual, issued at Christmas "for 1823" and translated The Hunchback of Notre Dame.-Biography:Shoberl was born in London in 1775, and...
established The New Monthly Magazine and Universal Register as a "virulently Tory" competitor to Sir Richard Phillips
Sir Richard Phillips
Sir Richard Phillips was an English schoolteacher, author and publisher.Phillips was born in London. Following some political difficulties in Leicester where he was a schoolteacher and bookseller, he returned to London, established premises in Paternoster Row, St. Paul's Churchyard, and founded...
' Monthly Magazine
Monthly Magazine (1796)
The Monthly Magazine of London "began publication in February 1796. Richard Phillips ... was the publisher and a contributor on political issues; the editor for the first 10 years was the literary Jack-of-all-trades, Dr...
in 1814. "The double-column format and the comprehensive contents combined the Gentleman's Magazine with the Annual Register
Annual Register
The Annual Register is a long-established reference work, written and published each year, which records and analyses the year’s major events, developments and trends throughout the world...
".
In 1821 Colburn recast the magazine with a more literary and less political focus, retitling it The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal. Nominally edited by the poet Thomas Campbell, most editing fell to the sub-editor Cyrus Redding
Cyrus Redding
-Biography:The son of a Baptist minister, Redding was privately educated. He moved to London about 1806, and worked for the Pilot before editing the Plymouth Chronicle and then the West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser which he founded in 1810....
. Colburn paid contributors well, and they included Sydney Morgan, Thomas Charles Morgan
Thomas Charles Morgan
Sir Thomas Charles Morgan was an English physician and writer with an interest in philosophical and miscellaneous subject matter. His wife was the famed novelist Lady Morgan....
, Peter George Patmore
Peter George Patmore
Peter George Patmore was an English periodical writer active between the years of 1820 and 1825, known mainly for a series of articles in the New Monthly Magazine entitled "Picture Galleries of England", acting as a critical guide to the main aristocratic collections of Old Master paintings at the...
, Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
, Charles Lamb, Leigh Hunt
Leigh Hunt
James Henry Leigh Hunt , best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist, poet and writer.-Early life:Leigh Hunt was born at Southgate, London, where his parents had settled after leaving the USA...
, Stendhal
Stendhal
Marie-Henri Beyle , better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology, he is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism in his two novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme...
, Thomas Noon Talfourd
Thomas Noon Talfourd
Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd, SL , was an English judge and author.The son of a well-to-do brewer, he was born at Reading, Berkshire ....
, Letitia Elizabeth Landon
Letitia Elizabeth Landon
Letitia Elizabeth Landon , English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L. E. L.- Early life :...
, Ugo Foscolo
Ugo Foscolo
Ugo Foscolo , born Niccolò Foscolo, was an Italian writer, revolutionary and poet.-Biography:Foscolo was born on the Ionian island of Zakynthos...
, Richard Lalor Sheil
Richard Lalor Sheil
Richard Lalor Sheil , Irish politician, writer and orator, was born at Drumdowney, Slieverue, County Kilkenny, Ireland...
, Mary Russell Mitford
Mary Russell Mitford
Mary Russell Mitford , was an English author and dramatist. She was born at Alresford, Hampshire. Her place in English literature is as the author of Our Village...
, Edward Bulwer
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton PC , was an English politician, poet, playwright, and novelist. He was immensely popular with the reading public and wrote a stream of bestselling dime-novels which earned him a considerable fortune...
, James and Horace Smith
James and Horace Smith
James Smith and Horace Smith , authors of the Rejected Addresses, sons of a solicitor, were both born in London....
, and William Hazlitt
William Hazlitt
William 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...
. Hazlitt's 'Table Talk' essays, begun in the London Magazine
London Magazine
The London Magazine is a historied publication of arts, literature and miscellaneous interests. Its history ranges nearly three centuries and several reincarnations, publishing the likes of William Wordsworth, William S...
, appeared in the New Monthly from late 1821, his essay 'The Fight' appeared in 1822, and his series 'Spirits of the Age' was later republished in book form as The Spirit of the Age (1825).
Charles Knight
Charles Knight
Charles Knight is the name of:*Charles Knight , English author and publisher*Charles Knight , British civil servant*Charles Knight , New Zealand filmmaker, actor and stuntman...
's London Magazine
London Magazine
The London Magazine is a historied publication of arts, literature and miscellaneous interests. Its history ranges nearly three centuries and several reincarnations, publishing the likes of William Wordsworth, William S...
merged with the New Monthly in 1829, and in that year Richard Bentley
Richard Bentley
Richard Bentley was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge....
became Colburn's business partner. After Redding resigned in 1830, Campbell found himself unable to edit the magazine on his own and Samuel Carter Hall
Samuel Carter Hall
Samuel Carter Hall was an Irish-born Victorian journalist who is best known for his editorship of The Art Journal and for his much-satirised personality.-Early years:Hall was born at the Geneva Barracks in Waterford...
became editor for a year. In 1831 the novelist Edward Bulwer
Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton PC , was an English politician, poet, playwright, and novelist. He was immensely popular with the reading public and wrote a stream of bestselling dime-novels which earned him a considerable fortune...
became editor, turning "the essentially apolitical, slightly Whiggish, literary journal into a vigorous radical organ shouting "Reform" at the top of its lungs." Hall, a political Conservative, had remained as sub-editor, and resisted Bulwer's efforts: Bulwer resigned in 1833, with Hall taking up the editorship once more. Contributors now included Catherine Gore
Catherine Gore
Catherine Grace Frances Gore was a British novelist and dramatist, daughter of a wine merchant at Retford, where she was born. She is amongst the well-known of the silver fork writers - authors of the Victorian era depicting the gentility and etiquette of high society.-Biography:Gore was born in...
, Anna Maria Hall
Anna Maria Hall
Anna Maria Hall was an Irish novelist who often published as "Mrs. S.C. Hall".She was born Anna Maria Fielding in Dublin, but left Ireland at the age of 15...
, Felicia Hemans
Felicia 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;...
, Caroline Norton, Thomas Haynes Bayley, and Theodore Edward Hook
Theodore Edward Hook
Theodore Edward Hook was an English man of letters.- Biography :He was born in London. He spent a year at Harrow School, and subsequently matriculated at Oxford, but he never actually resided at the university...
.
In 1837 the magazine was retitled The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, to meet the challenge of Bentley's Miscellany
Bentley's Miscellany
Bentley's Miscellany was an English literary magazine started by Richard Bentley. It was published between 1836 and 1868.-Contributors:Already a successful publisher of novels, Bentley began the journal in 1836 and invited Charles Dickens to be its first editor...
. A new editor, Theodore E. Hook
Theodore Edward Hook
Theodore Edward Hook was an English man of letters.- Biography :He was born in London. He spent a year at Harrow School, and subsequently matriculated at Oxford, but he never actually resided at the university...
, published contributions from Leigh Hunt
Leigh Hunt
James Henry Leigh Hunt , best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist, poet and writer.-Early life:Leigh Hunt was born at Southgate, London, where his parents had settled after leaving the USA...
, Douglas Jerrold, Frederick Marryat
Frederick Marryat
Captain Frederick Marryat was an English Royal Navy officer, novelist, and a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story...
, Frances Trollope
Frances Trollope
Frances Milton Trollope was an English novelist and writer who published as Mrs. Trollope or Mrs. Frances Trollope...
, Charles Robert Forrester
Charles Robert Forrester
Charles Robert Forrester was an English lawyer and writer, who sometimes wrote under the pseudonym Hal Willis, frequently with illustrations provided by his brother Alfred Henry Forrester who shared the pseudonym Alfred Crowquill.Charles Robert Forrester was a son of Robert Forrester of 5 North...
, and W. M. Thackeray. Upon Hook's death in 1841, Thomas Hood
Thomas Hood
Thomas Hood was a British humorist and poet. His son, Tom Hood, became a well known playwright and editor.-Early life:...
was editor until 1843.
In Colburn sold the magazine for £2500 to William Harrison Ainsworth
William Harrison Ainsworth
William Harrison Ainsworth was an English historical novelist born in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in London he met the publisher John Ebers, at that time manager of the King's Theatre, Haymarket...
, who had earlier edited Bentley's Miscellany and who now edited his own Ainsworth's Magazine. Ainsworth edited the New Monthly with his cousin William Francis Ainsworth
William Francis Ainsworth
William Francis Ainsworth was an English surgeon, traveller, geographer and geologist, known also as a writer and editor.-Life:Ainsworth was born on 9 November 1807 at Exeter, the son of John Ainsworth of Rostherne in Cheshire, captain in the 15th and 128th regiments...
as sub-editor. From 1871–79 William Francis Ainsworth was editor.
Titles
Over the years, the magazine had several titles. These are listed at Periodicals Online, and comprise:- The New Monthly Magazine and Universal Register - February 1814 to December 1820
- The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal - January 1821 to December 1836
- The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist - January 1837 to December 1852
- The New Monthly Magazine - January 1853 to December 1881
- The New Monthly - January to October 1882.
Editors
The editorship of the New Monthly Magazine was complicated by the frequent use of a deputy position, or "working editor".- 1814 Frederic ShoberlFrederic ShoberlFrederic Shoberl , also known as Frederick Schoberl, was an English journalist, editor, translator and writer. Schoberl edited Forget Me Not, the first literary annual, issued at Christmas "for 1823" and translated The Hunchback of Notre Dame.-Biography:Shoberl was born in London in 1775, and...
- John WatkinsJohn Watkins (writer)John Watkins was an English miscellaneous writer, known as a biographer.-Life:Born in Devon, he was educated at Bristol for the nonconformist ministry. Becoming dissatisfied, he conformed to the Church of England around 1786, with his friend Samuel Badcock, and for some years kept an academy in...
- 1819 Alaric Alexander WattsAlaric Alexander WattsAlaric Alexander Watts , British poet and journalist, born in London. His life was dedicated to newspaper creation and edition and was seen as a conservative writer...
- 1821 Edward Dubois, one issue only
- 1821–1830 Thomas Campbell
- 1821–1830 Cyrus ReddingCyrus Redding-Biography:The son of a Baptist minister, Redding was privately educated. He moved to London about 1806, and worked for the Pilot before editing the Plymouth Chronicle and then the West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser which he founded in 1810....
de facto editor - 1830 Samuel Carter HallSamuel Carter HallSamuel Carter Hall was an Irish-born Victorian journalist who is best known for his editorship of The Art Journal and for his much-satirised personality.-Early years:Hall was born at the Geneva Barracks in Waterford...
, sub-editor and then editor - 1831–1833 Edward Bulwer-Lytton
- 1837–1841 Theodore Hook
- 1837–1841 Benson Earle Hill, assistant
- 1839–1840 Francis Foster BarhamFrancis Foster BarhamFrancis Foster Barham was an English religious writer, known as the 'Alist'.-Life:The fifth son of Thomas Foster Barham , by his wife Mary Anne, daughter of the Rev. Mr. Morton, he was born 31 May 1808 at Leskinnick, Penzance, Cornwall, where his parents dwelt in independence and retirement...
with John Abraham HeraudJohn Abraham HeraudJohn Abraham Heraud was an English poet.Of Huguenot descent, he contributed to various periodicals, and published two poems, which attracted some attention, The Descent into Hell , and The Judgment of the Flood . He also produced a few plays, miscellaneous poems, books of travel, etc... - 1841–1843 Thomas HoodThomas HoodThomas Hood was a British humorist and poet. His son, Tom Hood, became a well known playwright and editor.-Early life:...
- 1841–1853 Peter George PatmorePeter George PatmorePeter George Patmore was an English periodical writer active between the years of 1820 and 1825, known mainly for a series of articles in the New Monthly Magazine entitled "Picture Galleries of England", acting as a critical guide to the main aristocratic collections of Old Master paintings at the...
- 1845–1870 William Harrison AinsworthWilliam Harrison AinsworthWilliam Harrison Ainsworth was an English historical novelist born in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in London he met the publisher John Ebers, at that time manager of the King's Theatre, Haymarket...
proprietor-editor - 1871 William Francis AinsworthWilliam Francis AinsworthWilliam Francis Ainsworth was an English surgeon, traveller, geographer and geologist, known also as a writer and editor.-Life:Ainsworth was born on 9 November 1807 at Exeter, the son of John Ainsworth of Rostherne in Cheshire, captain in the 15th and 128th regiments...
Further reading
Many earlier editions of this publication are now available online. Later volume numbering is sequential by year. In earlier publications, at least one example is to be found of multiple volume numbering in the same year, such as 1822, per examples listed below. The list also illustrates the titles used, and gives an indication of the publishing frequency.- David Higgins, ‘Englishness, Effeminacy, and the New Monthly Magazine: Hazlitt’s “The Fight” in Context’, Romanticism 10:2 (Autumn 2004), 170–90
- The New Monthly Magazine, and Universal Register, Vol 6. July–Dec 1816 at Google Books.
- The New Montly Magazine and Literary Journal. Vol 3. Jan–June 1822 at Google Books.
- The New Montly Magazine and Literary Journal. 1822. Vol 4. Original Papers at Google Books.
- The New Montly Magazine and Literary Journal. 1822. Vol 5. Original Papers at Google Books.
- The New Montly Magazine and Literary Journal. 1822. Vol 6. Historical Register at Google Books.
- The New Montly Magazine and Literary Journal. 1823. Vol 9. Historical Register at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal. Vol 9. Jan–June 1825 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal. Vol 16 Part 1, 1826 at Google Books
- The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal. Vol 21 Part 3, 1827 at Google Books
- The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist. Vol 36, Part 2. 1839 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist. Vol 71, Part 2. 1844 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist. Vol 88. 1850 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist. Vol 89. 1850 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist. Vol 90. 1850 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist. Vol 91. 1851 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist. Vol 93. 1851 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist. Vol 94. 1852 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist. Vol 96. 1852 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine . Vol 97. 1853 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine . Vol 99. 1853 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 100. 1854 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 101. May 1854 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 102. 1854 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 103. 1855 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 105. 1855 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 106. 1856 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 108. 1856 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 135. 1865 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 136. 1866 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 138. 1866 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 139. 1867 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 142. 1868 at Google Books.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 145. 1869 at Google Books. This is the last volume for which full views are available. Thereafter, only snippet views are available per below.
- The New Monthly Magazine. Vol 146. 1870. Snippet view at Google Books.
External links
- Listings for New Monthly Magazine at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
.