The Eclectic Review
The Eclectic Review was a British periodical published monthly during the first half of the 19th century aimed at highly literate readers of all classes.
The Eclectic paid special attention to literature, reviewing major new Romantic writers such as William Wordsworth and Lord Byron as well as emerging Victorian novelists such as Charles Dickens.
Although the Eclectic was founded by Dissenters, it adhered to a strict code of non-denominationalism; however, its religious background may have contributed to its serious intellectual tone.
Although few of the contributors of the Eclectic remain famous today, such as the poet James Montgomery, many of them were well-known academics or reformers of the time, such as the abolitionist George Thompson and the theological scholar Adam Clarke.
As James Basker explains in his short history of the Eclectic, the Edinburgh Review was its "most illustrious and its most antagonistic rival", and like it, the Eclectic "offered sophisticated criticism that moved almost completely away from the old-fashioned techniques of quotation and abstract toward a genuine critical evaluation of books and their significance in the broader contexts both of the author's canon and of their formal or intellectual tradition".
[1] Basker writes that "the Eclectic grew to become what is now a massive and invaluable archive of the literary and intellectual history of the nineteenth century".
Basker speculates that its religious foundations are connected to its "high proportion of serious intellectual discussion and rather less than usual treatment of lighter literary from such as drama and the novel".
Edwin Paxton Hood took over as editor in January 1861, changing the periodical back to a book review, increasing the size of each issue, and lowering the price still further.
[2] However, as Basker points out "although the rest may be forgotten today, it is nonetheless true to say (as one of its editors said in the 1830s) that 'the pages of the [Eclectic] have been enriched by the contributions of many of the most powerful intellects of the age'".
Its reviews of family encyclopedias, such Dionysius Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia suggest that it was aimed at the lower-middle and lower classes.
"[7] For example, in 1820 the Eclectic began reviewing Washington Irving's Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, writing that it was "the first purely literary production that has issued from the American press, which could claim to rank, in point of original talent and classic elegance of style, with the best English authors".
In general, the Eclectic preferred Wordsworth to Samuel Taylor Coleridge, particularly after the publication of "Kubla Khan", calling on him "to break off his desultory and luxurious habits, and to brace his mind to intellectual exertion".
[10] The Eclectic also reviewed the works of important literary figures such as George Crabbe, Robert Burns, James Hogg, William Hazlitt, Stendhal, and Goethe.
[5] For example, the January 1845 issue had seven major articles; three were on literary subjects and the rest were on theology, politics, education, and natural history.
[5] Basker writes that "in general, over the years the Eclectic showed remarkable tolerance for other religious groups—not only the various denominations of Protestants, but also Roman Catholics and Jews.
