Author-Editor Relations and Cultural Change in the Golden
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COMPLEX NETWORKS: AUTHOR-EDITOR RELATIONS AND CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF VICTORIAN PERIODICALS—ELIZABETH GASKELL AND CHARLES DICKENS; ANTHONY TROLLOPE AND WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY; GEORGE ELIOT AND JOHN BLACKWOOD ___________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of EngLish Sam Houston State University ___________ In PartiaL FulfiLLment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts ___________ by Nadia J. Arensdorf May, 2019 COMPLEX NETWORKS: AUTHOR-EDITOR RELATIONS AND CULTURAL CHANGE IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF VICTORIAN PERIODICALS—ELIZABETH GASKELL AND CHARLES DICKENS; ANTHONY TROLLOPE AND WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY; GEORGE ELIOT AND JOHN BLACKWOOD by Nadia J. Arensdorf ___________ APPROVED: Lee Courtney, PhD Committee Director Paul W. ChiLd, III, PhD Committee Member Kandi Tayebi, PhD Committee Member Abbey Zink, PhD Dean, ColLege of Humanities and SociaL Sciences For Joe, of course iii ABSTRACT Arensdorf, Nadia J., Complex networks: Author-editor relations and cultural change in the golden age of Victorian periodicals—Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens; Anthony Trollope and William Makepeace Thackeray; George Eliot and John Blackwood. Master of Arts, EngLish, May, 2019, Sam Houston State University, HuntsviLLe, Texas. This thesis examines three pairs of author-editor reLationships, whose authors published one of their major works through a form of seriaLization in the Victorian periodicaL press. The three pairs, their works, and their respective periodicaLs are ELizabeth GaskeLL, author of North and South, and CharLes Dickens, editor of Household Words; Anthony TrolLope, author of Framley Parsonage, and WiLLiam Makepeace Thackeray, editor of The Cornhill Magazine; and, George ELiot, author of Middlemarch, and John BLackwood, editor of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine. For each of these reLationships, I anaLyze one-to-one correspondence and other primary sources, concLuding that in tandem these pairs of authors and editors contribute to the ever-changing culturaL growth occurring in the nineteenth century. ELizabeth GaskeLL and CharLes Dickens notoriousLy had a tempestuous reLationship, but, in spite of their difficulties in seriaLizing North and South, their shared legacy should be as the twin sociaL commentators of their time. By contrast, Anthony TrolLope and W. M. Thackeray maintained a businessLike reLationship, with TrolLope offering Framley Parsonage as the quintessentiaL EngLish noveL to the fLedgLing Cornhill Magazine. In paraLLeL fashion, Thackeray and TrolLope worked to promote the new gentLemanly ideaL to their middle-cLass public. FinaLLy, George ELiot maintained a long and robust correspondence with her editor, John BLackwood, reLying on him for encouragement to keep writing. With his consistent and abundant affirmation of her true-to-Life writing styLe that is most fulLy represented in iv Middlemarch, ELiot and BLackwood contributed to the establishment of literary reaLism that was deveLoping towards the end of the nineteenth century. Each of these authors, editors, noveLs, and periodicaLs has a story to teLL, and, in combination, they heLped to create a publishing culture that refLected the dynamic sociaL and literary transformations arising in nineteenth-century Britain. KEY WORDS: Victorian periodicaLs, Authors, Editors, GaskeLL, Dickens, TrolLope, Thackeray, John BLackwood, George ELiot, ReLationships v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank my three committee members who graciousLy read my many pages and suggested criticaL revisions that made the thesis stronger. Any lack from their suggestions is simply my own. Dr. Tayebi, you were the one who chaLLenged me the most to consider new and remarkable ideas, most I never would have contemplated. Thank you aLso for the extra heLp with revamping my TrolLope-Thackeray chapter into a stronger paper. Dr. ChiLd, thank you for listening to countLess thesis topic ideas and enduring a subject out of your preferred fieLd. You have been there the longest, and our conversations during my graduate program have made my time at Sam Houston more enjoyable. Dr. Courtney, you were the first to teach me Victorian history and literature, and I found in you a feLLow admirer of fiction published in seriaLized form. Thank you for your constant encouragement regarding my writing and the concepts I have discussed. Your inspiration kept me going, and your enthusiasm was infectious. Thank you for directing my committee. I aLso owe a debt of gratitude to the many scholars who have gone before me and whose writings have taught me so much about the nineteenth century broadly, Victorian Literature in generaL, and British periodicaLs in particuLar. It’s a priviLege to be part of the great conversation with these inspiring individuaLs. I am not finished with these fascinating topics. I would like to thank the many librarians at the Newton Gresham Library who heLped me find resources and conquer requirements, especiaLLy Sarah Greenmyer and Sammie PheLps at InterLibrary Loan services, Erin Owens for copyright assistance, and EmiLy Wanko for heLp with formatting the thesis for finaL pubLication. vi A speciaL note of recognition goes to my feLLow Bearkat and daughter, Julie J. Arensdorf, with whom I have had the unique priviLege of experiencing a rigorous university education at Sam Houston and shared a common bond with the fieLd of EngLish. Penultimate thanks goes to my husband, Dr. Joseph J. Arensdorf, to whom this thesis is dedicated. Joe, thank you for listening with enthusiasm and asking aLL the right questions about my six Victorians and British periodicaLs. Thank you aLso for urging me on to the next goaL and sharing it with me. I love you. Above aLL, I need to thank the Holy Spirit, my ultimate Teacher, who LeveLed the mountains and guided me littLe by littLe to the treasures in the darkness (Isaiah 45: 2-3). In spite of my imperfect abiLity to write, He was there encouraging me aLL the way. ~ Nadia J. Arensdorf vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I: THE GOLDEN AGE OF VICTORIAN PERIODICALS: AN INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER II: THE PERFECT STORM: GASKELL AND DICKENS ....................... 27 CHAPTER III: CONVERGENCE: THACKERAY, TROLLOPE, AND THE CORNHILL MAGAZINE........................................................................ 62 CHAPTER IV: THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: JOHN BLACKWOOD AND GEORGE ELIOT ................................................................................... 93 CHAPTER V: IN CONCLUSION: AUTHOR-EDITOR RELATIONS AND CULTURAL CHANGE ....................................................................... 128 NOTES ............................................................................................................................ 139 WORKS CITED ............................................................................................................. 148 CURRICULUM VITAE ................................................................................................. 158 viii LIST OF FIGURES Page 1 Birth and death dates for authors and editors........................................................ 20 2 Dickens in 1854 .................................................................................................... 31 3 GaskeLL in 1854 ..................................................................................................... 37 4 Thackeray, 1860-63 .............................................................................................. 67 5 TrolLope in 1860 .................................................................................................... 74 6 BLackwood, undated ............................................................................................ 115 7 ELiot, circe 1858 ...................................................................................................117 ix 1 CHAPTER I The Golden Age of Victorian Periodicals: An Introduction WaLter E. Houghton, the Victorian literary scholar known for his editorship of the Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals, describes the nineteenth century as “the golden age of the magazine and the review” (554). This body of quarterLies, monthLies, and weeklies served both the “educated” and the “masses” and was concerned with the “serious discussion of ideas” (554). Because the age was advancing so quickly in the fieLds of science, history, and theology, Houghton explains, people were confused by so many new facts and wanted answers (555). Richard D. ALtick, in his seminaL work, The English Common Reader, which detaiLs the growth of the EngLish reading public, explains that as British society entered the 1815 post-BattLe of WaterLoo era, a new, radicaL journaLism “trenchantLy commented on domestic events and prescribed remedies for the desperate state in which the workers found themseLves” (324). The Victorian age was aLso an “age of doubt”: aLL this new information brought questions—questions about the universe, the nation, the Church—and the content in periodicaLs,