''The Reader'' was a British weekly published from 1863 to 1867. Intended as a review journal, for both science and literature, it has been called "probably the last attempt, in Victorian England, to keep together liberal scientists, theologians, and men of letters."

History

''The Reader'' was set up in 1862 by

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. ...

and

Norman Lockyer Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer (17 May 1836 – 16 August 1920) was an English scientist and astronomer. Along with the French scientist Pierre Janssen, he is credited with discovering the gas helium. Lockyer also is remembered for being the f ...

, neighbours in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, to cover art, religion and science. The first issue appeared on 3 January 1863. The original backers were

Christian Socialist Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe cap ...

s. Some of those were bought out, in 1864, by associates of the

X Club The X Club was a dining club of nine men who supported the theories of natural selection and academic liberalism in late 19th-century England. Thomas Henry Huxley was the initiator; he called the first meeting for 3 November 1864. The club m ...

. The alliance of the groups was uneasy. ''The Reader'' was sold in autumn 1865 to Thomas Bendyshe. There were 211 weekly numbers, and the final issue appeared on 12 January 1867.

Editorial staff

The first editor was

John Malcolm Ludlow John Malcolm Forbes Ludlow (8 March 1821 – 17 October 1911) was an Anglo-Indian barrister. He led the Christian socialist movement and founded its newspaper of the same name. Biography He was born in Nimach, British India, where his father ...

, who was succeeded by

David Masson David Mather Masson LLD DLitt (2 December 18226 October 1907), was a Scottish academic, supporter of women's suffrage, literary critic and historian. Biography He was born in Aberdeen, the son of William Masson, a stone-cutter, and his wi ...

. In aiming to review books of all sorts, ''The Reader'' resembled in its approach the models ''

Monthly Review The ''Monthly Review'', established in 1949, is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. The publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States. History Establishment Following ...

'' and '' Critical Review'' of the 18th century.John F. Byrne, ''"The Reader": A Review of Literature, Science and the Arts, 1863-67'', Victorian Periodicals Newsletter No. 4, ol. 2, No. 1(Apr., 1969), pp. 47–50, at p. 48. Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press on behalf of the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals They were followed by J. Dennis, and Thomas Bendyshe. The editors of the science section were

Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The storie ...

and

John Tyndall John Tyndall FRS (; 2 August 1820 – 4 December 1893) was a prominent 19th-century Irish physicist. His scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries in the realms of infrared radiation and the p ...

. Lockyer initially had had that job. With

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest" ...

, he tried to turn around ''The Reader'' in 1864 by expanding its science content. But the December 1864 editorial "Science and Church Policy" by Huxley damaged circulation, by offending Christian Socialists. There came to be flexibility of roles, with Frederick Pollock (1815–1888) taking on some responsibility in mid-1865.

Contributors

In April 1863 a list of 51 contributors was published. *

George Edward Roberts George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He is best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural se ...

contributed eight papers *

John Richard de Capel Wise John Richard de Capel Wise (1831–1 April 1890) was a writer and natural historian. Although he wrote on Shakespeare and other subjects, his most successful work was his 1862 book ''The New Forest: its History and its Scenery'', which describes ...

Legacy

While the scientific content of ''The Reader'' ended with Bendyshe's ownership, the scientific group supplying it was the milieu for the founding of ''

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

'' in 1869. As far as Bendyshe's interests in human diversity went,

James Hunt James Simon Wallis Hunt (29 August 1947 – 15 June 1993) ''Autocourse Grand Prix Archive'', 14 October 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007. was a British racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in . After retiring from racing in ...

set up as successor the ''Popular Magazine of Anthropology'' in early 1866.

Notes

External links

* The initial price was 4d. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reader Weekly Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom 1863 establishments in the United Kingdom 1866 establishments in the United Kingdom