What's in a Name?: Signature, Criticism, and Authority in The Fortnightly Review

In an attempt to cleanse its book reviews of commercial and political overtones, The Fortnightly Review transformed critical writing by implementing an editorial policy of signature. Signed reviews no longer articulated the voice of a collective group but instead expressed the sincere evaluation of an individual. This change in format, however, destabilized conventional authority systems that had guaranteed criticism would not be read as personal opinions. This article looks at the methods used by George Eliot and Anthony Trollope, in their works published in the Fortnightly's first volume, to preserve criticism as authoritative while negotiating editorial demands for signature.