The Rise of Periodical Print Culture, 1700–1830

Course Description

Among the topics that will be covered in this course are: the differences between periodical forms; technological innovations in printing and illustration; business models for periodical publication; relationships between publishers, printers, editors, artists, contributors and readers; the growth of audience specialization, such as the rise of the women’s magazine; the culture of pseudonymity; the relationship between the book, newspaper and periodical trade, and regional and national press; and the periodical’s complex status in eighteenth-century copyright law.  

Taught primarily at the Borthwick Institute of Archives at the University of York, the course will take advantage of the rich collections it holds. The course will also involve a visit to another local archive. Students will have the opportunity to work with a diverse range of periodical titles and forms across these three collections. They will benefit additionally from sessions that facilitate deep engagement with runs of individual, long-running titles including: The Gentleman’s Magazine, The Lady’s Magazine, and York newspapers. This course is suitable for students with little or no experience with periodicals from this period. In their personal statements, applicants should describe their interest in and experience with periodicals (if any) and how the course might fit into their current work. 

Faculty

Jennie Batchelor

Jennie Batchelor is Head and Professor of English at the University of York, which she joined in 2023 after a little over two decades at the University of Kent, the …

Advance Reading List

Required Reading: 

For those new to the eighteenth century, the following chapter will be useful:

• Suarez, Michael. “Introduction” to The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain: Vol. V, 1695–1830, ed. Michael Suarez, S. J. and Michael L. Turner. Cambridge: Cambridge  University Press, 2009. Pp. 1–35. 

In addition, the following are required reading: 

• Batchelor, Jennie and Manushag N. Powell. “Introduction” to Women’s Periodicals and Print Culture in Britain, 1690–1820s: The Long Eighteenth Century, ed. Jennie Batchelor and Manushag N. Powell. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2018. Pp. 1–19. 
• Harris, Michael. “London Newspapers,” in The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain. Volume V 1695–1830, ed. Michael F. Suarez, S. J., and Michael L. Turner. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Pp. 413–33. 
• Tierney, James. “Periodicals and the Trade, 1696-1780,” in The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain. Volume V 1695–1830, ed. Michael F. Suarez, S. J., and Michael L. Turner. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Pp. 479–497. 

Additional optional reading for those interested: 

• Barker, Hannah. Newspapers, Politics and English Society, 1695–1855. London: Longman, 2000). 
• Batchelor, Jennie. The Lady’s Magazine (1770-1832) and the Making of Literary History. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2022. 
• Ezell, Margaret J. M. Early English Periodicals and Early Modern Social Media. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024. 
• Klancher, Jon P. The Making of English Reading Audiences, 1790–1832. Madison:  
• University of Wisconsin Press, 1987. 
• Slauter, Will. “Upright Piracy: Understanding the Lack of Copyright for Journalism in Eighteenth-Century Britain,” in Book History and Print Culture 16 (2013): 34–61. 

Course History