To nineteenth century writers the dynamic periodical press appeared both an influential medium and a means to pay the bills. How did women fare in Grub Street? Could they harness the power of the press? Who were the 'lady journalists'? Drawing on varied contemporary sources and a database covering hundreds of women, Barbara Onslow assesses their contribution to journalism and how it affected the careers of writers as diverse as George Eliot, Anna Maria Hall, Mary Braddon and Charlotte Yonge.
'Barbara Onslow's Women of the Press in Nineteeth-Century Britain takes on a daunting task and performs a fine service.' - Julie English Early, Essay Review, Nineteenth Century Studies
'...Onslow...is right to claim that her study offers what no other previously published book has, a working knowledge of the general outline of women's roles in the nineteenth-century press...interesting, informative, and unprecendented study...' - Linda K. Hughes, Texas Christian University
'One of the strengths of this book is its ability to focus on individual figures within a wider picture.' - Carolyn Oulton, New Book in Nineteenth Century Studies, University of Southern California
'Onslow succeeds in penetrating the near-invisibility of early women's journalism...' - Kate Kelman, Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, The Bibliotheck
'An experienced journalist herself, Onslow brings a sleuth-like tenacity and thoroughness to her research among the complete range of contemporary sources...Women of the Press in Nineteenth-Century Britain will be revisited eagerly by both scholars and those with a general interest in Victorian journalism.' - Marion Durnin, University of Dublin, Women's Writing
'Onslow instead provides a very useful survey of the journalistic field, identifying a host of forgotten women writers...' - Lillian Nayder, Victorian Periodicals Review
'Everything in the literary world is done by favour and connections. Mary Howitt's assessment of the importance of contacts in the London of the 1840s is borne out in Barbara Onslow's wide ranging and fascinating study of nineteenth centruy women journalists.' - Joanne Shattock, University of Leicester, The George Eliot Review
'Women of the Press contains a wealth of invaluable information, from the carefully differentiated chapters on editing, reviewing, and politics, to the Select Biographical Appendix... Onslow's recognition of the significant part that the periodicals played in shaping George Eliot's career is acute and one of the most succinct descriptions of Eliot's journalistic career I have ever encountered...provides readers and scholars alike with an invaluable resource tool.' - Judith Johnston, The University of Western Australia, Gaskell Society Journal
Foreword
Introduction
Obstacles and Opportunities
A Fifth State
At Our Library Table: Reviewers and Critics
Something to Say, A Living to Earn: Periodicals Contributors
In the Editor's Chair
A Niche in the Market
Handmaids and Decorators
A Press for a Purpose
Jill of All Trades: Journalism and the Professional Writer
Journalism and the Novel
Afterword
Select Biographical Appendix
Select Bibliography
Index
BARBARA ONSLOW is Lecturer in English at the University of Reading. She has published on women's writing, including journalism in Victorian Poetry and Victorian Periodicals Review.
Description
To nineteenth century writers the dynamic periodical press appeared both an influential medium and a means to pay the bills. How did women fare in Grub Street? Could they harness the power of the press? Who were the 'lady journalists'? Drawing on varied contemporary sources and a database covering hundreds of women, Barbara Onslow assesses their contribution to journalism and how it affected the careers of writers as diverse as George Eliot, Anna Maria Hall, Mary Braddon and Charlotte Yonge.
Reviews
'Barbara Onslow's Women of the Press in Nineteeth-Century Britain takes on a daunting task and performs a fine service.' - Julie English Early, Essay Review, Nineteenth Century Studies
'...Onslow...is right to claim that her study offers what no other previously published book has, a working knowledge of the general outline of women's roles in the nineteenth-century press...interesting, informative, and unprecendented study...' - Linda K. Hughes, Texas Christian University
'One of the strengths of this book is its ability to focus on individual figures within a wider picture.' - Carolyn Oulton, New Book in Nineteenth Century Studies, University of Southern California
'Onslow succeeds in penetrating the near-invisibility of early women's journalism...' - Kate Kelman, Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, The Bibliotheck
'An experienced journalist herself, Onslow brings a sleuth-like tenacity and thoroughness to her research among the complete range of contemporary sources...Women of the Press in Nineteenth-Century Britain will be revisited eagerly by both scholars and those with a general interest in Victorian journalism.' - Marion Durnin, University of Dublin, Women's Writing
'Onslow instead provides a very useful survey of the journalistic field, identifying a host of forgotten women writers...' - Lillian Nayder, Victorian Periodicals Review
'Everything in the literary world is done by favour and connections. Mary Howitt's assessment of the importance of contacts in the London of the 1840s is borne out in Barbara Onslow's wide ranging and fascinating study of nineteenth centruy women journalists.' - Joanne Shattock, University of Leicester, The George Eliot Review
'Women of the Press contains a wealth of invaluable information, from the carefully differentiated chapters on editing, reviewing, and politics, to the Select Biographical Appendix... Onslow's recognition of the significant part that the periodicals played in shaping George Eliot's career is acute and one of the most succinct descriptions of Eliot's journalistic career I have ever encountered...provides readers and scholars alike with an invaluable resource tool.' - Judith Johnston, The University of Western Australia, Gaskell Society Journal
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
Obstacles and Opportunities
A Fifth State
At Our Library Table: Reviewers and Critics
Something to Say, A Living to Earn: Periodicals Contributors
In the Editor's Chair
A Niche in the Market
Handmaids and Decorators
A Press for a Purpose
Jill of All Trades: Journalism and the Professional Writer
Journalism and the Novel
Afterword
Select Biographical Appendix
Select Bibliography
Index
Authors
BARBARA ONSLOW is Lecturer in English at the University of Reading. She has published on women's writing, including journalism in Victorian Poetry and Victorian Periodicals Review.
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