Welcome
Nineteenth-Century Literature is a quarterly journal devoted to the study of all literary genres of the era. By virtue of the range and quality of its coverage, its longevity, and indeed its substantial subscription, NCL is justly regarded as the preeminent periodical in its field.
Established at UCLA in 1945 as The Trollopian, the journal bore the subtitle “A Journal of Victorian Fiction” because the founding editor, Bradford Booth, recognized the need for a periodical covering not just the novels of Anthony Trollope but all novels and short stories belonging to this great age. By volume four, the subtitle was slightly modified and elevated to the main title. At the same time, the range of writings was expanded to embrace to whole century from Jane Austen to Henry James. In its new incarnation, Nineteenth-Century Fiction included essays on American fiction, thus creating the opportunity for comparative assessments of two national literatures. Nineteenth-Century Fiction quickly became the journal of choice for scholars and critics working in these two areas of inquiry. After forty years devoted exclusively to fiction, the journal commanded such authority in nineteenth-century studies that the time had come for it to accommodate scholarship on poetry, critical prose, and drama, enabling illuminating connections to be made between different types of writing. Accordingly, in 1986, the journal was given its present title, continuing the expansive vision that first created The Trollopian and Nineteenth-Century Fiction. During the past decade, NCL has showcased some of the finest scholarship across the whole span of nineteenth-century British and American literary studies, publishing submissions from all around he world.
Nineteenth-Century Literature is recognized as a highly selective, meticulously edited journal that publishes significant studies of an eclectic range of nineteenth-century literary works. If oriented toward historically informed scholarship, NCL nonetheless encourages essays and reviews that reflect a broad spectrum of current critical approaches. Feminist, minority, post-structuralist, and new historicist inquiries take their place alongside more traditional perspectives on the relations between literary form and the nineteenth-century cultural context. Essays range from broad studies of literary movements to concise notes on specific points of critical contention or recent historical discoveries. Similarly, new interpretations of canonical works appear next to innovative analyses of neglected authors. Substantial reviews are regularly commissioned from scholars of distinction, ensuring that due attention is given to the best new research in the field. As a consequence, NCL is essential reading for those with a serious interest in the richly diversifying field of British and American nineteenth-century literature.