Rugged and Uneven Narrations: Street Styles and the London Magazine

From the moment of its relaunch in 1820 under the editorship of John Scott, The London Magazine sought to define itself clearly amongst its competitors in the market for literary magazines. As John Whale has pointed out, the first issue of the relaunched London Magazine from January 1820 proudly declared its intention that in its pages ‘the Metropolis’ should not ‘remain unrepresented in the now strenuous competition of Periodical Literature’ and that its guiding aim was ‘to convey the very “image, form, and presence” of that “mighty heart” whose vast pulsations circulate life, strength, and spirits, throughout this great Empire’. As such, the magazine sought to develop a particular style that intended to provide it with a clear identity, one which often relied upon and referenced a close connection with London street-life and the styles and pastimes of the city. But, as this paper will argue, such a close alignment to the urban world of 1820s London reveals a great deal about the tensions which could be observed within London society of the time. Ultimately, this paper will suggest, with reference to a number of articles published in the magazine during this period, that the characterisation of London life in the pages of The London Magazine actually serves to draw attention to some of the contradictions which existed within the character of the magazine itself.