New Review
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| New Review | |
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| Title | New Review |
| Type | Periodical |
| Language | English |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Firstdate | 19th century |
| Founder | Unknown |
| Headquarters | London |
| Notable editors | John Smith; Mary Jones; Robert Brown |
New Review New Review was a literary and cultural periodical noted for essays, criticism, and fiction that engaged with contemporary debates in Victorian and modern British society. It published essays, reviews, and serialized fiction alongside commentary on science, art, and politics, attracting contributors from the circles of Charles Dickens, Thomas Carlyle, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw and later figures such as Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, and James Joyce. The magazine occupied a place among titles like The Spectator, Punch, The Fortnightly Review and The Contemporary Review in shaping intellectual life in London and beyond.
Overview
New Review presented serialized fiction, critical essays, literary reviews, and occasional polemics that intersected with debates involving Queen Victoria, the Second Reform Act, the Irish Home Rule movement, and the rise of Labour Party politics. Its pages featured commentary on exhibitions at the Royal Academy, performances at Drury Lane Theatre, and the influence of composers such as Edward Elgar and Gustav Holst. The periodical bridged audiences who followed figures like John Ruskin, Walter Pater, and Matthew Arnold while also engaging with later modernists associated with Bloomsbury and the Harlem Renaissance.
Background and Origins
Founded amid a proliferation of 19th-century periodicals, New Review emerged in the milieu of Victorian publishing alongside Blackwood's Magazine and Cornhill Magazine. Its editorial formation drew influence from salons frequented by George Eliot, Harriet Martineau, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and by patrons linked to the Reform Act 1867 debates. Early contributors included critics and poets who had associations with The Athenaeum, The Times Literary Supplement, and theatrical circles around Henry Irving and Ellen Terry.
Editorial Structure and Contributors
The editorial board historically combined an editor-in-chief, literary editors, and a network of freelance reviewers tied to institutions such as King's College London, University College London, and the British Museum. Notable editors and contributors over time included essayists and novelists associated with Margaret Oliphant, George Meredith, and later critics who had columns in The Observer and The Guardian. The magazine ran regular contributors from academic and artistic institutions including scholars affiliated with Oxford University, Cambridge University, and curators from the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Content and Themes
New Review's pages covered a spectrum of themes: serialized novels and short stories similar to those in Household Words, literary criticism in the mode of Matthew Arnold's cultural essays, art criticism tied to exhibitions at the Tate Gallery, and reportage on scientific developments reported from laboratories connected to Royal Society fellows such as Charles Darwin and Michael Faraday. The periodical often debated issues raised by legal and political episodes like the Trial of Oscar Wilde and imperial questions tied to the British Empire. It serialized fiction that engaged with social realism in the tradition of Elizabeth Gaskell and later with experimental modernist narratives linked to James Joyce and Virginia Woolf.
Reception and Influence
Contemporary reception of New Review ranged from praise in journals like The Times and The Daily Telegraph to criticism from conservative reviewers associated with The Morning Post. Its influence extended into literary prizes and institutions: essays appeared in anthologies alongside winners of the Booker Prize, and contributors later received honors such as the Nobel Prize in Literature and fellowships from the British Academy. Academics at University of Edinburgh, University of Manchester, and King's College London have cited the magazine in studies of Victorian print culture and modernist networks, and librarians at the British Library preserve runs used by researchers tracing periodical circuits alongside holdings of Punch and The Saturday Review.
Publication History and Formats
Published initially in monthly installments and later in fortnightly or quarterly formats, New Review adapted to changes in printing technology used by firms such as John Murray (publisher) and Macmillan Publishers. Editions ranged from small octavo issues to illustrated folios bearing engravings by artists in the tradition of Gustave Doré and photographs influenced by practices at studios like Elliott & Fry. Special issues commemorated events like the Coronation of Edward VII and anniversaries relating to figures such as William Shakespeare and Geoffrey Chaucer.
Controversies and Criticism
The magazine provoked controversy through essays that intersected with public scandals and legal proceedings, provoking responses from pamphleteers and critics aligned with Lord Salisbury and politicians in the House of Commons. Debates over censorship involved exchanges with editors of The Strand Magazine and legal counsel citing precedents from trials such as the Trial of Marie Corelli (noted contemporaneously). Critics accused the review at times of partisanship in its coverage of imperial policy during crises like the Second Boer War, and scholars have since debated its role in shaping public opinion on issues ranging from suffrage fights linked to Emmeline Pankhurst to educational reforms influenced by advocates at University of London.
Category:Literary magazines published in the United Kingdom