''The Literary Gazette'' was a British

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 letter ...

, established in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1817 with its full title being ''The Literary Gazette, and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences''. Sometimes it appeared with the caption title, "London Literary Gazette". It was founded by the publisher

Henry Colburn Henry Colburn (1784 – 16 August 1855) was a British publisher. Life Virtually nothing is known about Henry Colburn's parentage or early life, and there is uncertainty over his year of birth. He was well-educated and fluent in French and h ...

, who appointed the journalist and contributor

William Jerdan William Jerdan FSA (16 April 1782 – 11 July 1869), Scottish journalist, was born at Kelso, Scotland. During the years between 1799 and 1806, he spent short periods in a country lawyer's office, a London West India merchant's counting hou ...

as editor in July 1817. Jerdan wrote most of the articles and set the character of the magazine, and then became a shareholder and eventually the owner. He retired in 1850, and the magazine ceased publication in 1863. The format of the magazine was always essentially the same, each issue consisting of about sixteen pages typeset in three columns. Illustrations were rarely included. The periodical would feature several book reviews, with the leading article being a book review occupying two or three pages. Feature sections included "Original Correspondence" and a social column as well as notice of theatre productions. An "Original Poetry" section consisted of work sent in by the public, the poets being called "Correspondents", as well as some work by staff writers. Advertisements filled the last two pages, which were used by publishers to publicise books. The magazine also occasionally featured news of subjects of interest such as archaeological discoveries, inventions, art exhibitions, architecture and the sciences.

William Paulet Carey William Paulet Carey (1759 – 21 May 1839) was an Irish art critic and publicist, known also as an engraver and dealer. In 1792 he joined the Society of United Irishmen in Dublin, but feeling unsupported as he himself faced charges of sedition, ...

and

Walter Henry Watts Walter Henry Watts (1776 – 4 January 1842) was an English miniature painter and journalist. Life Watts was born in the East Indies in 1776, the son of a captain in the Royal Navy. He was sent to England at an early age and placed at school in Ch ...

acted as art critics. At its peak from the 1820s until the end of the 1840s, ''The Literary Gazette'' had unprecedented power and influence. While the reviewers in the influential quarterlies tended to write political tracts rather than describing the book they were supposed to be reviewing, Jerdan as a professional journalist had no interest in promoting political ideology, and his practice was to include extensive quotations from the book being reviewed. This reading material attracted a mass audience who also appreciated the weekly publication giving "a spontaneity which the monthlies and quarterlies could not acquire" and the low price of only eight pence, with circulation reaching four thousand copies a week. A favourable review in ''The Literary Gazette'' meant almost certain success for writers and publishers, but a mixed review could be disastrous.

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* * 1817 establishments in the United Kingdom 1863 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Book review magazines Defunct literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines published in London Magazines established in 1817 Magazines disestablished in 1863 Poetry literary magazines {{UK-lit-mag-stub