The Religious Press In Britain 1760-1900

Features

Description

Religion played a very special role in the life of nineteenth-century Britain. This period saw the last great revival of religion, which shaped the pattern of attitudes and behavior we now call Victorian. The religious periodical press was the preeminent medium of communication on all subjects in the nineteenth century and is the best primary source for the study of religion.

In this first systematic and comprehensive treatment of nineteenth-century British religious journalism, the more important or representative periodicals are identified and assigned to their respective denominations or movements. The Religious Press in Britain begins with a general introduction to the religious press and an overview of its development from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.

The press is studied in detail in narrative form under the headings of denominations or religious tendencies. Chapters focus on general movements (for example, temperance) or specialties (for example, children's periodicals). There is a brief general conclusion. Of particular importance is an index of the religious periodicals mentioned in the work, cross-referenced to movements and dates.

This in-depth study is a valuable resource for the study of modern British history, religious history, and Victorian literature. Review: ?The title's dates encompass the rise and decline of the religious press in Britain. The Victorian age, taking up less than half the period, nevertheless dominates these pages.

Because both religion and periodicals were so important in the era, their confluence makes the religious periodical simultaneously a basic subject of, and a tool for, cultural analysis. Altholz's introduction states the daunting problems he faced--some 3,000 religious periodicals were published from 1760 to 1900--and his own successful solutions.

He defines religious' very broadly, chooses some 500 periodicals as most significant, and classifies them judiciously with full awareness of the pitfalls of periodical bibliography. His coverage is broad enough to include organs of virtually every Anglican and Nonconformist persuasion, those of Catholics, Jews, and free-thinkers, and also those of causes with religious inspiration, such as peace, temperance, and antislavery.

Scotland, Wales, and Ireland are all comprehended under Britain.' Altholz usually tries to describe the groups behind the publications, and if he is perfunctory in a few instances, he is adequately, even generously informative, in most. Unexpected wit and opinionation often enliven the narrative. Enriched with 28 pages of notes, an index of all periodicals mentioned in the text (with dates of publication, frequency, and affiliation), and a general index, this volume is one of the outstanding recent fruits of the Victorian periodicals research movement.

An indispensable resource for graduate and undergraduate students of the cultural history of 19th-century Britian.?-Choice