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Rhetoric & Public Affairs 5.4 (2002) 780-782



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Public Speech and the Culture of Public Life in the Age of Gladstone. By Joseph S. Meisel. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001; pp ix + 382. $50.00.

Public Speech, based on the author's 1999 dissertation of the same title, offers a history of public speaking in 19th-century Great Britain—primarily England. It focuses on the material and structural factors involved in public speaking rather than on public speeches. Distinguishing his work from "rhetorical histories," which he describes as being at times "extremely interesting and informative," the author notes that such work "typically does not lend itself to deeper historical understanding of the period in which the speeches were spoken" (3). In any case, it certainly can yield such insight, as does Public Speech, about the context of public speaking. The task is particularly important for 19th-century Britain given two trends documented by Public Speech: the increasing volume of public speaking and the increasing centrality of public speaking to public life.

The chapter titles indicate the traditional public speech practices that the book covers: "The House of Commons," "Religion," "Law," and "The Platform." Meisel justifies the focus by noting that these are "arguably the most pervasively influential areas of public life" (2); he acknowledges that other practices, such as drama, could have been covered. Preceding these chapters is a chapter on "Schools for Public Speaking," and following them a conclusion that points to factors contributing to the decline of public speaking in the early 20th century.

The chapter on schools for public speaking focuses primarily on the debating societies at Oxford and Cambridge—on their origin and development, how they worked, and their influence on public life. Although the Union Societies are tied to aristocratic privilege, over time the grounds of status shift "from social prestige to oratorical strength" (18). Meisel also notes the activities and significance of women's collegiate debating societies and of provincial debating societies and local parliaments.

Subsequent chapters cover factors that influenced the production and consumption of public speaking, including laws and institutional policies, physical spaces, and print technologies. For example, Meisel explores factors believed to account for the nature of parliamentary speech, such as its members' social background and education, how often they delivered speeches, and how many members were present for speeches. He notes the growth in number and size of newspapers reporting parliamentary speeches. He attributes the growth in production of religious speech in part to increases in the number of clergymen and ministers, the number of churches, and the amount of religious publishing. Consumption changed as individuals went to hear sermons by "star" preachers regardless of denomination—as "mainstream religion ceased to be primarily a matter of individual worship and increasingly came to center on public oratorical display" (166). Structures that encouraged the expansion of speechmaking by barristers included railways that [End Page 780] made travel more rapid and convenient, and legal reforms that permitted accused felons defense counsel. New court buildings increased the amount of physical space devoted to administering the law. The audience for legal oratory grew as newspapers that reported courtroom speeches increased in size, number, circulation, and readership. Extra-parliamentary speechmaking increased over the course of the century due in part to the declining number of uncontested elections, broader electoral franchise, and the introduction of the secret ballot. The physical spaces of platform oratory ranged from the highly flammable temporary structure built to honor Peel's inauguration as Lord Rector of Glasgow University, to permanent public buildings such as town halls, to a riding school, to outdoor locations. Such speech was consumed not only by the respectable but also by members of the working classes and by increasing numbers of women.

Besides examining factors that influenced public speaking, Meisel examines the careers of select speakers. He attends to earlier figures such as Burke, Fox, and Pitt. Gladstone appears throughout the book; he is a parliamentary speaker, High Churchman, part of the battle of the platforms. Meisel discusses other parliamentary speakers...

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