English Socialist Periodicals, 1880-1900: A Reference Source (review)

It is manifest from the outset that a great deal of work has gone into the making of this book. Even a partial index of the contents of thirty-nine periodicals published over two decades is no mean feat, but unfortunately the organization of the book means that despite the author having assembled a great volume of information it is not presented to the best advantage. Anyone hoping for work modelled on the Wellesley Index of Victorian Periodicals will be sadly disappointed. According to Mutch's introduction, this work is an offshoot of her doctoral thesis on the use of serialized fiction as a political tool. As a result, her listings are highly selective. Surprisingly for a female scholar she excludes one issue that occupied a great deal of space and controversy in the periodicals she indexes: 'The Women Question'. This arbitrary exclusion is explained on the grounds that much research has already been published on this topic, but it is strange to exclude a subject that loomed large in the columns of the very periodicals on which she has laboured.

The word 'English' in the title is used in the geographical sense, rather than as a linguistic category. The choice of periodicals covered includes publications from all over England but excludes those from Scotland and the south of Wales that contributed to the rise of socialism in these decades. Substantial weeklies such as the Yorkshire Factory Times and the London-based Marxist Justice, which had circulations measured in thousands, are included. Had the compiler focused on these and a few similar journals a better book could have been produced.

One of the minor periodicals indexed is the Hammersmith Socialist Record. This was a four-page monthly published by the Hammersmith Socialist Society, whose leading light was a founder member of the Bibliographical Society, William Morris. Given that this was an internal newsletter largely advertising forthcoming meetings and exhorting members to action, it is difficult to see the value of indexing such small pieces of only one paragraph, even if some have distinguished authors. A few pieces signed 'W. M.' have been listed here: attributing these to Morris is a perfectly reasonable assumption, but no indication is given that it is an assumption, or of the fact that the titles supplied for these articles are the compiler's own invention.

The first chapter is perhaps the most valuable. It provides an alphabetical listing (by author) of the large amount of serialized fiction that appeared in these papers. Even here, though, there is both too much information and too little. We are given the title of the novel and details of each instalment published. No great loss would have arisen by simply giving the start and finishing dates of serialization. More significantly, we are told nothing else about the novels than what can be gleaned from the title. Nothing is said about the previous or subsequent publishing histories of these stories. While most appeared only in the serial form listed here, others were reprinted shortly afterwards in book form. Still others have been republished in recent decades by labour and local historians, and even as part of the flourishing Victorian studies industry. It would have been easy for Mutch to have provided such details and thereby enhanced the reference value, to save scholars the necessity of doing their own searches for more convenient editions.

Similar observations may be made about the other literary sections. Short stories and poetry are covered in the same manner. Much of this writing is perhaps best left in the obscurity of yellowing pages, but there are some unexpected hidden gems such as the revelation that Justice published two poems by Rudyard Kipling in 1896 and 1898. More importantly, Mutch reveals a significant body of decent poetry from working-class authors writing for an audience similar in background. One of these is R. J. Derfel, a Welsh nationalist and socialist whose extensive output in the Yorkshire...