''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 Alexander Strahan (1833–1918) was a 19th-century publisher. His company, Alexander Strahan & Co., based at Ludgate Hill in London, published what was arguably one of the dominant periodicals in the 1860s, a monthly magazine called ''Good Words'' ...

and a group of intellectuals anxious to promote intelligent and independent opinion about the great issues of their day. They intended it to be the church-minded counterpart and in May 1877 published an article on the "Ethics of Belief" from a distinguished Cambridge don on moral skepticism in law and philosophy. Prof Clifford developed scientific theories on metaphysical beliefs, rationalism, and the empirical value of scientific enquiry that underpinned advanced physics. By the end of the century his views had a practicable impact upon new social realism. Clifford was quickly rebutted by Prof Wase in June 1877. Articles by Rev R.F. Littledale, a regular contributor included "Christianity and Patriotism".Contemporary Review (1877), vol. 30, contents This contrasted to the radical artistic perspectives of the ''

Fortnightly Review ''The Fortnightly Review'' was one of the most prominent and influential magazines in nineteenth-century England. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope, Frederic Harrison, Edward Spencer Beesly, and six others with an investment of £9,000 ...

''. The first

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

was Henry Alford, Dean of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

. The magazine rapidly acquired distinction as a forum for intellectual discussion. It was one of the first periodicals to devote considerable space to

the arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

. More particularly, it became an arena for the

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

and ecclesiastical disputes which at that time rent the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. Dean Alford retired in 1870 and his successor, J. T. Knowles, greatly enhanced the already established international standing of the journal. He widened the coverage and attracted contributors of great distinction, including Cardinal Manning,

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and pol ...

Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems. Born into the prominent Huxle ...

, Robert Spence, Henry Stanley, W. E. Gladstone,

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lit ...

F. D. Maurice John Frederick Denison Maurice (1805–1872), known as F. D. Maurice, was an English Anglican theologian, a prolific author, and one of the founders of Christian socialism. Since the Second World War, interest in Maurice has expanded."Fre ...

and

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

. It was in the period from 1882 to 1911, under the long editorship of

Percy Bunting Percy William Bunting (1 February 1836 – 22 July 1911) was an English journalist. Biography He was born at Radcliffe, Lancashire, son of Eliza and Thomas Percival Bunting, and grandson of Wesleyan divine Jabez Bunting. A younger sister was ...

, that ''The Contemporary Review'' turned increasingly to politics and social reform, acquiring a general, liberal outlook, though without party ties; and continuing to provide a platform for debate. Other fields were not neglected during this period. For example, Holman Hunt's articles were of great importance, and were relied upon in preparing the Holman Hunt Exhibition at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in 1969. In 1911,

G. P. Gooch George Peabody Gooch (21 October 1873 – 31 August 1968) was a British journalist, historian and Liberal Party politician. A follower of Lord Acton who was independently wealthy, he never held an academic position, but knew the work of histo ...

, the historian and Liberal MP for Bath (1906-1910), was appointed editor and continued to preside over the magazine for forty-nine years. While he gave much emphasis to the treatment of international affairs, it continued to cover a wide range of interests. The political outlook of the journal continued to be left of centre. For many years, under Gooch's editorship, J. E. G. de Montmorency was literary editor, and John Scott Lidgett, the Methodist theologian and leader, was in editorial charge of religious contributions, providing a

Free Church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fr ...

background very different from the establishment churchmanship of Dean Alford. Gooch was succeeded in 1960 by

Deryck Abel Deryck Robert Endsleigh Abel (9 September 1918 – 13 February 1965) was a British author, editor and political activist, who was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire to Frederick and Beryl Abel. He came from a family of teachers, craftsmen and clerks; he a ...

, who held the post of editor until his death in 1965. A former chairman of the Liberal Party Executive, three times a parliamentary candidate in the Liberal interest and a writer on the historical aspects of libertarian issues, Abel retained the magazine's broad variety of content whilst showing particular concern for its international outlook. Rosalind Wade became editor in 1970 and continued in office until 1989. Betty Abel was editor from 1989 to 1991. The current editor is Richard Mullen. In 1911 the ''International Review'' was incorporated. In 1956 the directors acquired the ailing ''Fortnightly'' of 1865, which was founded by Anthony Trollope as the ''

'' with

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 ...

as its editor.

Modern magazine

The ''Contemporary Review'' is an entirely independent publication. As in the past, international subjects in the widest sense receive considerable attention. It also continues to have a broad spectrum of interests, including home affairs and politics, literature and the arts, history, travel, and religion. There is a quarterly book section. After reducing to two annual issues in the late 2000s, the Winter 2013 edition published in January 2013 announced that it was to be the last print edition; the publication was giving consideration to continuing online.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Contemporary Review 1866 establishments in England Biannual magazines published in the United Kingdom Quarterly magazines published in the United Kingdom English-language magazines Magazines established in 1866 Magazines disestablished in 2013 Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Online magazines published in the United Kingdom Online magazines with defunct print editions 2013 disestablishments in the United Kingdom

History

Modern magazine

References

Further reading

External links