Editing The Nineteenth Century (periodical)

{{Short description|British literary magazine}}
{{italic title}}
[[File:The Nineteenth Century and After.jpg|thumb|Front cover of the magazine in September 1905, featuring the Janus symbol adopted after 1901]]

'''''The Nineteenth Century''''' was a British monthly [[literary magazine]] founded in 1877 by [[James Thomas Knowles (1831–1908)|James Knowles]]. It is regarded by historians as 'one of the most important and distinguished monthlies of serious thought in the last quarter of the nineteenth century'.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brake |first1=Laurel |last2=Demoor |first2=Marysa |title=Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism in Great Britain and Ireland |date=2009 |publisher=Academia Press |page=456}}</ref>

==Editorial policy==

The magazine was designed as an 'utterly impartial' forum for debate and discussion among leading intellectuals.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Metcalf |first1=Priscilla |title=James Knowles: Victorian Editor and Architect |date=1980 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=273 |isbn=978-0-19-812626-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/jamesknowlesvict0000metc}}</ref> Many of the early supporters and contributors to ''The Nineteenth Century'' were members of the [[Metaphysical Society]], of which Knowles had been secretary. The first issue, for example, contained pieces by former Society members [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson|Lord Tennyson]], [[William Ewart Gladstone|William Gladstone]] and [[Henry Edward Manning|Cardinal Manning]].<ref>Metcalf, ''Knowles'', pp. 279–280</ref> It quickly became one of the most successful literary magazines in Britain, selling over 20,000 copies a month by early 1878.<ref>Metcalf, ''Knowles'', p. 281</ref>

An important part of the magazine's success was its regular 'Modern Symposium' section.<ref>Small, Helen, 'Liberal Editing in the Fortnightly Review and the Nineteenth Century', in Kyriaki Hadjiafxendi and Polina Mackay (eds.) ''Authorship in Context: From the Theoretical to the Material'', Palgrave, 2009, pp. 56–71 (p. 67)</ref> This offered a series of essays and responses from different authors on subjects such as science or religion, collected together and published as a single structured debate. In this way the magazine quickly gained a reputation as a responsive forum where its contributors were given freedom to disagree without editorial interference.<ref>Brake and Demoor, ''Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism'', p. 456</ref> However, the magazine's focus on publishing established literary figures meant that it often excluded younger or unknown writers.<ref>Small, 'Liberal Editing', pp. 56, 71</ref> Although it generally lived up to its reputation as a 'neutral ground', the magazine did at times abandon impartiality to support positions dear to Knowles himself.<ref>Metcalf, ''Knowles'', p. 295</ref> For example, it was famously at the forefront of the campaign to prevent the building of a [[Channel Tunnel]] between Britain and France in 1882.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Keith |title=Channel Tunnel Visions, 1850–1945 |date=1994 |publisher=Hambledon Press |page=39}}</ref>

==''The Nineteenth Century and After''==
In 1901 the title was changed to '''''The Nineteenth Century and After'''''. To emphasise this change, a two-headed [[Janus|Janus-symbol]] of an old man and a young woman (the former representing the nineteenth century and the latter the twentieth) was added to the cover.<ref>Metcalf, ''Knowles'', p. 348</ref> Knowles was prevented from simply renaming it ''The Twentieth Century'' because the copyright to that name was already owned by someone else, who allegedly demanded a ransom for the rights to use it.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clarke |first1=Arthur C. |title=Astounding Days: A Science Fictional Autobiography |date=1990 |publisher=Bantam Books |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-553-34822-1 |page=56 |edition=1st}}</ref><ref>Metcalf, ''Knowles'', p. 348</ref> 

Knowles remained editor until his death, in 1908.<ref>{{cite DNB12 |last=Lee |first=Sidney |wstitle=Knowles, James Thomas}}</ref> During the twentieth century the magazine became politically more right-wing.<ref>The magazine is described as 'conservative' by Markus Huttner: 'Voigt, Frederick Augustus', ''ODNB'' (Oxford University Press, 2004); online edn, Jan 2008. [https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/36665 Accessed 13 June 2021.]</ref> 

The magazine's title was finally changed to '''''The Twentieth Century''''' in 1951. After 1968 its publication cycle was 'irregular'; it ceased publication completely in 1972.<ref>Brake and Demoor, ''Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism'', p. 456</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Twentieth Century |url=https://discover.libraryhub.jisc.ac.uk/search?author=Knowles%2CJames%2C&title=20th%20century&publisher=Twentieth%20century&isn=0041-4603&rn=1 |website=Library Hub Discover |publisher=Jisc |accessdate=22 August 2020}}</ref>

==Editors==
1877–1908 – [[James Thomas Knowles (1831–1908)|James Thomas Knowles]]
<br>1908–1919 – William Wray Skilbeck<ref>'Death of Mr. Skilbeck', ''The Times'', 18 July 1919, p. 18.</ref>
<br>1919–1925 – George A. B. Dewar<ref>'Obituary: Mr. G. A. B. Dewar', ''The Times'', 23 March 1934, p. 19.</ref>
<br>1925–1930 – [[Carrol Romer]]<ref>R. T. Porter, ''Romer and his Romer'', ''Sheetlines'' (Journal of [https://charlesclosesociety.org/ The Charles Close Society] [https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/charlesclose/Sh63.pdf no. 63 (2002), pp. 39-42.]</ref>
<br>1930–1934 – Charles Reginald Schiller Harris<ref>'Argentine Railways: Reported Appointment for Former British Editor', ''The Scotsman'', 17 July 1935, p. 12.</ref>
<br>1934–1938 – [[Arnold Wilson]]<ref>Robert Pearce, 'Wilson, Sir Arnold Talbot', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') (Oxford University Press, 2004); online edn, Jan 2008. [https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/36944 Accessed 13 June 2021.]</ref>
<br>1938–1946 – [[Frederick Augustus Voigt]]<ref>Huttner, 'Voigt, Frederick Augustus', ''ODNB''</ref>
<br>1947–1952 – Michael Goodwin<ref>'Obituary: Mr. Michael Goodwin, ''The Times'', 9 Sept. 1988, p. 18.</ref>
<br>1952–195? – Bernard Wall<ref>'Obituary: Mr. Bernard Wall, ''The Times'', 4 May 1974, p. 14.</ref>

During the magazine's final years it was run 'on a voluntary basis' by an editorial board chaired by Eirene Skilbeck, daughter of William Skilbeck and granddaughter of James Knowles.<ref>'Obituary: Eirene Skilbeck', ''The Times'', 28 Oct. 1969, p. 12.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/003913606 Examples of ''The Nineteenth Century''] at [[Hathi Trust]]
* [https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22KNOWLES%2C+JAMES%2C+ED.%22 Examples of ''The Nineteenth Century''] at the [[Internet Archive]]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Nineteenth Century}}
[[Category:Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct literary magazines published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1877]]
[[Category:Magazines disestablished in 1972]]
[[Category:1877 establishments in the United Kingdom]]