''The Fortnightly Review'' was one of the most prominent and influential magazines in nineteenth-century

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope,

Frederic Harrison Frederic Harrison (18 October 1831 – 14 January 1923) was a British jurist and historian. Biography Born at 17 Euston Square, London, he was the son of Frederick Harrison (1799–1881), a stockbroker and his wife Jane, daughter of Alexa ...

Edward Spencer Beesly Edward Spencer Beesly (; 23 January 1831 – 7 March 1915) was an English positivist, trades union activist, and historian. Life He was born on 23 January 1831 in Feckenham, Worcestershire, the eldest son of the Rev. James Beesly and his wife ...

, and six others with an investment of £9,000; the first edition appeared on 15 May 1865.

George Henry Lewes George Henry Lewes (; 18 April 1817 – 30 November 1878) was an English philosopher and critic of literature and theatre. He was also an amateur physiologist. American feminist Margaret Fuller called Lewes a "witty, French, flippant sort of m ...

, the partner of

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

, was its first editor, followed by John Morley. The print magazine ceased publication in 1954. An online "new series" started to appear in 2009.

History

''The Fortnightly Review'' aimed to offer a platform for a range of ideas, in reaction to the highly partisan journalism of its day. Indeed, in announcing the first issue of the ''Fortnightly'' in the ''Saturday Review'' of 13 May 1865, G. H. Lewes wrote, "The object of ''THE FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW'' is to become the organ of the unbiassed expression of many and various minds on topics of general interest in Politics, Literature, Philosophy, Science, and Art." But by the time Lewes left due to ill health and was replaced by 28-year-old John Morley, the ''Fortnightly'' had become known as a partisan and Liberal magazine. It was one of the first publications to name the authors of its articles at a time when work usually appeared anonymously or under a pseudonym. As might be expected from its name, it appeared every two weeks during its first year, at 2 shillings a copy, but was published monthly thereafter. John Sutherland called it an English '' Revue des Deux Mondes'' and noted that it was "pitched at a higher level than other English journals of its class". The ''Fortnightly'' prospered under John Morley, its sales increasing to 2,500 by 1872. Morley, a liberal, published articles favouring reform in academia, work place relations, female emancipation and religion. A host of famous and soon-to-be-famous literary figures were featured in its pages, with three novels by Anthony Trollope and two by

George Meredith George Meredith (12 February 1828 – 18 May 1909) was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but he gradually established a reputation as a novelist. '' The Ord ...

appearing in serial form. The first novel serialised in the magazine was Trollope's '' The Belton Estate'', from 15 May 1865 to 1 January 1866. Trollope's '' The Eustace Diamonds'' and his radical novel ''Lady Anna'' also made their first appearance there. The ''Fortnightly'' also published the poetry of Algernon Charles Swinburne,

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhoo ...

, and

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

. Morley fell out of favour with the more conservative publishers of the journal and was replaced by T. H. S. Escott in 1882. The new editor published political articles from across the spectrum in a return to the ''Review''s original intention. Ill health forced him to relinquish the reins in 1886 when Frank Harris took over for eight successful years. Houghton reports that "almost every distinguished English writer and critic of the day was among his contributors". Harris' liberal views led to his replacement as editor in 1894 by the long serving W. L. Courtney (1894–1928), who featured work from some of the giants of early 20th century literature, including

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

, W. B. Yeats, and Ezra Pound. In addition to literature and politics, the magazine also published several articles on science, notably

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

, animal behaviour and topical issues of instinct and morality, including women's rights items by Virginia Crawford. Oscar Wilde's aphoristic preface to '' The Picture of Dorian Gray'' was published in the March 1891 issue; and George Orwell's essay "

Bookshop Memories "Bookshop Memories" is published in 1936 by the English author . As the title suggests, it is a reminiscence of his time spent working as an assistant in a second-hand bookshop. Background In October 1934 Orwell's aunt Nellie Limouzin recommende ...

" appeared in November 1936.Orwell, Sonia and Angus, Ian (eds.). ''The Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell Volume 1: An Age Like This (1920–1940)'' (Penguin). ''The Fortnightly Review'' also published several ghost stories by

Oliver Onions George Oliver Onions (13 November 1873 – 9 April 1961), who published under the name Oliver Onions, was an English writer of short stories and novels. He wrote in various genres, but is perhaps best remembered for his ghost stories, notably t ...

. The print magazine changed its name to ''The Fortnightly''. It ceased publication in 1954 and was absorbed by the ''

Contemporary Review ''The Contemporary Review'' is a British biannual, formerly quarterly, magazine. It has an uncertain future as of 2013. History The magazine was established in 1866 by Alexander Strahan and a group of intellectuals anxious to promote intelli ...

'' in 1956.

Online series

In 2009 a group of British and American scholars and writers, including philosopher

Anthony O'Hear Anthony O'Hear (born 1942 in Cleethorpes) is a British philosopher. He is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Buckingham and Head of the Department of Education. He is Honorary Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and editor of ...

, OBE, director of the

Royal Institute of Philosophy The Royal Institute of Philosophy, founded in 1925, is a charity organisation that offers lectures and conferences on philosophical topics. The Institute is "dedicated to the advancement of philosophy in all its forms, in order to access the wid ...

, began publication of a "new series" online a
fortnightlyreview.co.uk
with the aim of extending Lewes's original editorial ambitions to modern politics, literature, philosophy, science, and art. New articles are sometimes juxtaposed with significant archival material and scholars are given assistance in research that involves the ''Fortnightly Review''. In partnership with the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

, where Harris once attended, the ''Fortnightly'' publishes the winning essay of the Trollope Prize and a series of books and monographs under its "Odd Volumes" imprint. The current editors are Prof. Alan Macfarlane, FBA (

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

), and Denis Boyles, PhD (CAMRI, University of Westminster).

References

Sources

External links

''The Fortnightly Review''
(New Series)

of selected volumes.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortnightly Review 1865 establishments in England 1954 disestablishments in England Defunct literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct political magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1865 Magazines disestablished in 1954 Magazines established in 2009 Online literary magazines Online magazines published in the United Kingdom Online magazines with defunct print editions

History

Online series

References

Sources

Further reading

External links