Retrospective Review

The Retrospective Review was an English periodical published from 1820 to 1828. It was founded by Henry Southern, who edited it to 1826, as well as contributing. From 1827 to 1828 Nicholas Harris Nicolas was co-editor with Southern.^[1]

It concentrated on Early Modern English literature;^[1] John Gross saw it as presaging later academic literary criticism.^[2] Contributors included:

• George Frederick Beltz^[3]
• James Crossley^[4]
• Charles Wentworth Dilke;^[1]
• William Ford^[5]
• Basil Montagu^[6]
• William Johnson Fox;^[1]
• John Hamilton Reynolds;^[1]
• William Stevenson^[7]
• Thomas Noon Talfourd.^[1]

The title was revived in the 1850s by the publisher John Russell Smith.^[8] After the revival of The Retrospective Review in the 1850s by publisher John Russell Smith, the journal continued to be published until the late 1850s. However, despite attempts to rekindle interest in early English literature, the journal was unable to maintain a stable readership and eventually ceased publication. ^[9] Later, in 1856, Smith launched the "Library of Old Authors" series, which reprinted works by early English writers and helped preserve and disseminate their literary legacy.