The Edinburgh Review

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

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The

Edinburgh Review; or, Critical Journal

was launched in October 1802 by “a distinct and marked set” of energetic and talented but politically disfranchised young Scottish Whig lawyers — Francis Jeffrey (1773-1850), Francis Horner, John Archibald Murray, Henry Brougham (1778-1868) — at the instigation of one member of the group of friends who was neither a Scot, nor a lawyer: the Rev. Sydney Smith (1771-1845), visiting the Scottish capital at the time as a tutor. “It happened to be a tempestuous evening”, wrote Jeffrey’s friend and biographer, Henry Cockburn, in 1852, “and I have heard [Jeffrey] say that they had merriment at the greater storm they were about to raise”. Accounts differ as to who exactly was involved at the planning stage (the philosopher Thomas Brown,…

3045 words

Citation: Christie, William Henry. "The Edinburgh Review". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 May 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5511, accessed 19 March 2024.]

5511 The Edinburgh Review 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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