THE CANADIAN MONTHLY, 1872-1882 Marilyn G. Flitton B.A., McGill University, 1942- A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL F'ULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department 0 f English @ MARILYN G. FLITTON 1973 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY April 1973 All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without per- mission of the author. APPROVAL Name : Marilyn G. Flitton Degree : Master of Arts Title of Thesis: The Canadian Monthly, 1872-1882 Examining Committee: Chairman: Stephen A. Black Bruce H. Nesbitt! Senior Supervisor Gordon R. Elliott Sandra A. Djwa Victor G. Hopwood Associate Professor University of British Columbia Vancouver, B .C . Date Approved : March 19, 1973 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis or dissertation (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis /~issertation: The Canadian Monthly, 1872-1882 Author : (signature) Marilyn G. Flitton (name ) May 1, 1973 (date) ABSTRACT THE CANADIAN MONTHLY, 1872-1882 Much valuable source material directly related to the development of Canadian literature can be found in the Canadian periodicals of the nineteenth century, one of the most important of which is the Canadian Monthly and National Review. This study of the Canadian Monthly, which includes an analytical index of its contents, investigates the management of the publication over its ten year period and examines the material in its pages. It supplements the history of periodical publishing in Canada and demonstrates the difficulties of economic survival for a Canadian literary enterprise in the nineteenth century marketplace. Three prevailing conditions in Toronto in the early 1870"s enabled Graeme Mercer Adam, the first publisher, sometime editor and major promoter of the Cqnadian Monthly, to realize the concept of an independent national journal: a strong sense of nationalism in the new Dominion, an expanding and more literate population, and the availability of literary and financial assistance from a new resident, Goldwin Smith. In the early years Goldwin S?>h fulfilled the role of editor in everything but name. Af ter his v break with the magazine, it continued in a precarious economic condition under several editors and publishers until 1878. In July of that year, it amalgamatedwith Belford's Monthly Magazine to become ~ose-Belford's Canadian Monthly and National Review. Four years later it expired abruptly, iii iv the publisher claiming that, as a business venture, the magazine could no longer be sustained. During its existence, the Canadian Monthly provided a vital medium, otherwise unattainable, for Canadian literary talent, and most of the published authors of the late nineteenth century in English-speaking Canada contributed to its pages. It also provided a non-partisan forum for serious, intelligent discussion and debate on current controversial issues, both political and cultural. Strongly nationalist in its main interests and in its encouragement of native talent, the ~anadi&Monthly presented to its readers the awareness of the possibilities of an indigenous literature. For today's readers, it is a document of a society that shares much in common with our own. Its existence is testimony to the spirit and idealism of a small group of literary nationalists. I wish to thank the members of my Committee and Mr. Peter Greig, Chairman of the Index Committee of the Bibliographical Society of Canada. Mr. Greig, in reply to my inquiries, has written me long, detailed letters about the art of indexing and has given me thoughtful assistance and cheer- ful encouragement in the preparation of the index for the Canadian Monthly. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page APPROVAL . ii ABSTRACT . iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . v INTRODUCTION ............................. 1 I. PERIODICAL PUBLISHING IN CANADA BEFORE 1871 . 5 11. THE CANADIAN MONTHLY AND GOLDWIN SMITH, 1872-1874 . 18 111. PUBLISHING PROBLEMS, 1875-1878 . 33 IV. ROSE-BELFORD's CANADIAN MONTHLY, 1878-1882 . 46 V. CONCLUSION ............................ 56 INDEX TO THE CANADIAN MONTHLY . 60 AePENDIX A: CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF CANADIAN PERIODICALS PUBLISHED BEFORE 1880 . 210 BIBLIOGRAPHY.. , ..... .. .................... 215 INTRODUCTION In the early 1870's a small group of literary nationalists in Canada founded, supported and managed to sustain for a ten year period an indepen- dent national magazine of literary importance to a developing Canadian culture. Dependent on a small Canadian market and obliged to compete with imported periodicals covering the full range of literary tastes, the existence of the Canadian Monthly was constantly precarious. Without the infusion of financial support, its demise was inevitable. Only through the energy and perseverance of a few who envisaged the possibilities of a national literature could a Canadian literary enterprise such as the Canadian Monthly survive, even for a brief period, in the nineteenth-century marketplace. This two-part study of the Canadian Monthly outlines and discusses the publishing circumstances of the magazine and supplies an analytical index to its contents, without attempting a critical commentary on the literary values of its contributions. Documentation of the events in this period of literary publishing history in Canada has often been obscure and not always accurate, partly because of prevailing policies of editorial anonymity. The account of the publishing history of the magazine traces its progress under various editors and publishers. It supplies new material from some of Goldwin Smith's unpublished correspondence and upsets some of the assumptions about the early editorial management of the magazine. The Canadian Monthly is a valuable source of original work for many pub- lished authors of the late nineteenth century. The subject-author index 2 to the Canadian Monthly covers the extent and nature of their contributions, identifies some of the anonymous material, attributes certain pseudonyms to possible authors, and reveals the range of subject-matter. The contributors to the Canadian Monthly over the ten years of publication included many of the foremost Canadian figures of the day, literary and political. The magazine afforded them a market for material which often lead to later publication in book form. Among these contri- butions originally published in Canadian Monthly are John G. Bourinot's The Intellectual Development of the Canadian People, Samuel Thompson' s Reminiscences of a Canadian Pioneer for the Last Fifty Years, Samuel J. Watson's The Powers of Canadian Parliaments, Agnes Maule Machar's Lost and -Won, and Mrs. Leprohon's Clive Weston's Wedding Anniversary. Some of the articles forming the basis of later books include David B. Read's history of the Bar of Ontario, George M. Grant's biography of Joseph Howe, Canniff Haight's reminiscences of early Ontario and George Bryce's historical account of Manitoba. Among the poems which found first publication in the Canadian Monthly were those by Charles Mair, Charles G. D. Roberts, Alexander McLach- lan, Kate Seymour MacLean, George Murray, Susie F. Harrison and William Kirby. G. Mercer Adam, the early promoter and first publisher of the Canadian Monthly, outlined the policies for an independent national magazine in his trade magazine, the Canada Bookseller, in 1870. Despite the unsuc- cessful record in Canada for journals of any literary significance, Adam considered the time was right for a new attempt. There was a strong sense of nationalism in the new Dominion and an expanding and more literate population. By the following year there was also the availability of literary and financial assistance from a new resident, Goldwin Smith. 3 Goldwin Smith's early participation in the affairs of the Canadian Monthly was not only vital to its founding but also to its existence in the first three years of its publication. Although the assumption has prevailed that G. Mercer Adam was the first editor, it becomes clear that Smith filled the post in everything but name. He was also responsible for most of the writing of many individual issues until his break with the publishers, Adam and Stevenson, in December 1874. The firm continued to publish the Canadian Monthly in spite of severe financial difficulties and attempted to increase its circulation with promotional schemes and greater contributions of original material. Within two years, G. Mercer Adam retired from the firm to join forces with other Canadians in New York City in the business of reprinting English copyright books. The ambiguity of existing copyright laws allowed for certain reprinting practices which had repercussions on Canadian and American publishers. Incidents arising from these circumstances involving the Canadian Monthly and its publishers include the first printings of works by Wilkie Collins, W. D. Hawels and Mark Twain. The merger of Hunter, Rose, the original printers of the magazine, and Belford Brothers brought about the amalgamation of the Canadian Monthly with Belford's Monthly and the continuance of the publication as Rose- Belford's Canadian Monthly and National Review, in July 1878. Within months, the Belford brothers departed for the more lucrative American field of publishing and George M. Rose continued as publisher. Under George Stewart and finally G. Hercer Adam, the magazine continued to grow. The number of its contributors increased as did the amount and diversity of original material. Abruptly in 1882, the publication ceased. The publisher claimed that, as a business venture, he could no longer sustain the Canadian Monthly.