'The short story and the modern magazine grew up together, but the story of their mutual emergence has been slow to develop. At last, here is a volume that delves into this culturally vibrant symbiosis on all levels, from game-changing theoretical accounts to sharp, empirical micro-histories. This book is a must-have for short story experts and periodical studies scholars - indeed for anyone fascinated by the interactions between emerging media and cultural forms.'
Patrick Collier, Ball State University
Explores the relationship between magazine culture and the development of the modern short story form in Britain
This collection of original essays highlights the intertwined fates of the modern short story and periodical culture in the period 1880-1950, the heydays of magazine short fiction in Britain. Through case studies that focus on particular magazines, short stories and authors, chapters investigate the presence, status and functioning of short stories within a variety of periodical publications - highbrow and popular, mainstream and specialised, middlebrow and avant-garde. Examining the impact of social and publishing networks on the production, dissemination and reception of short stories, it foregrounds the ways in which magazines and periodicals shaped conversations about the short story form and prompted or provoked writers into developing the genre.
Elke D'hoker is Professor of English Literature at the University of Leuven.
Chris Mourant is Lecturer in Early Twentieth-Century English Literature at the University of Birmingham.