Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine

In Short

This volume of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine gathers the intellectual and popular currents of 1845 into a single miscellany. Broad analytical essays weigh the enduring greatness of classical art alongside serial fiction, personal memoirs, and frontline journalism from European conflicts. Across its entries, the issue moves between refined aesthetic commentary and accessible, colorful entertainment. It has survived as a vivid snapshot of Victorian literary taste, capturing how the period's readers consumed political intrigue, historical drama, high-minded critical theory, and lighthearted narrative all at once.

The Story

The issue opens with a sweeping critical meditation on Homer, Dante, and Michael Angelo, establishing a standard of artistic greatness rooted in original thought and enduring narrative force. From these high cultural peaks, the text shifts abruptly to the low-country humor of the American frontier in "Settled at Last; Or, Red River Recollections." Here, a party of travellers journeys up the Red River by steamboat, exposing the culture clashes between French aristocrats, refined plantation hosts, and boisterous American outdoorsmen whose antics interrupt the voyage with sudden stag hunts and noisy deck-side revelry.

The focus then turns eastward to the rugged heights of Montenegro, where a English traveller documents the political and military turmoil of the region. The narrative follows a journey to Cettigna to meet the Vladika, a warrior-bishop leading his mountain state in a desperate war against Turkish pashas. The reporting details the geography, border skirmishes, and the complex geopolitical web tying the region to Russian subsidies and imperial diplomacy.

A quick turn into light social satire follows with "Æsthetics of Dress," which mockingly critiques the endless fads and oddities of human haberdashery. This sets up an enthusiastic review of Alexandre Dumas’s popular swashbuckler The Three Guardsmen, celebrating the high-stakes swordplay, fierce loyalty, and frantic duels of D’Artagnan and his companions as they clash with Cardinal Richelieu’s guards.

Political drama takes over in the serial installment of "Marston; Or the Memoirs of a Statesman." The protagonist navigates the high-pressure world of British politics and European warfare. Devastated by the loss of his beloved Clotilde, he is dispatched as a military aide-de-camp carrying crucial war despatches to London. He is thrust directly into the House of Commons, where he must overcome paralyzing stage fright to deliver a key speech following a brilliant oration by Sheridan. His career soon draws him into the shadowy realm of counter-insurrection in Ireland, where he uncovers French invasion plots from a dying rebel agent before returning through dangerous, skirmish-torn country.

Domestic intrigue closes out the issue's fictional offerings in a battle over estate ownership, where an unassuming, wealthy old man quietly outbids an arrogant rival at an auction to secure Surbridge Hall for his family. Finally, the volume turns to deep literary analysis with an extensive assessment of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, examining his complex legacy as a poet, political philosopher, scholar, and opium consumer, while dissecting his severe early education under harsh schoolmasters and his intellectual battles with contemporary thinkers.

How It Unfolds

The classical standard is set The issue opens by examining why artists like Homer and Michael Angelo endure across centuries. It argues that true genius lies in powerful, original thought rather than polished mechanics.

A muddy river voyage begins A steamboat carries a mixed group of travelers up the Red River toward a plantation home. The quiet journey breaks into chaos when an energetic traveler leaps into a boat to hunt a swimming deer.

Ascending the Montenegrin crags A traveler rides into the mountains of Montenegro during an active war with neighboring pashas. The account observes how a warrior-bishop uses Russian funding to govern a fierce, independent mountain people.

Sword-clashes and courtly intrigue A review of Alexandre Dumas's latest serial highlights the breathless excitement of young D'Artagnan fighting side-by-side with wounded mousquetaires against dangerous rivals.

A nervous debut in Parliament A young diplomat copes with personal tragedy while carrying military despatches to London. He steps onto the floor of the House of Commons, overcomes terror, and delivers a crucial maiden speech.

A dying conspirator's secret While investigating rebellion in Ireland, the narrator comes across a dying agent who reveals a secret plot for a French fleet to invade the island.

A quiet bidder takes the hall At a high-stakes auction, an unassuming old man outmaneuvers a boastful rival, securing a prized country estate to settle a family dispute.

Measuring the legacy of Coleridge The final major section evaluates Samuel Taylor Coleridge, recounting his brutal schooling under a harsh master and analyzing his vast, unfinished contributions to philosophy and literature.

The People

• The Vladika of Montenegro: A tall, educated warrior-bishop who exchanges his crosier for a sword to defend his mountain country against Turkish armies while balancing Russian political influence.
• D’Artagnan: A fiery young Gascon fencer who fights with wild agility, throwing himself into dangerous duels to protect his wounded mousquetaire comrades.
• Doughby: An uninhibited American river traveler who loud-mouthedly drags companions onto the boat deck and commandeers a rowboat to chase down a deer in mid-river.
• Vergennes: A young French political exile crammed with radical Utopian schemes and Paris fashions, providing constant amusement to his pragmatic American companions.
• Marston: A driven British officer and politician who carries vital military despatches, handles high-stakes parliamentary debates, and uncovers foreign conspiracies despite deep personal sorrow.
• Thomas Roe: A modest-looking, resolute old man from Riches Court who uses his immense wealth to quietly crush an arrogant opponent at an auction.
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge: The brilliant, complex English poet and philosopher whose immense intellect, chaotic life, and opium habit present a daunting puzzle for literary critics.

In Its Own Voice

"There is something inexpressibly striking, it may almost be said awful, in the fame of HOMER."

An opening essay reflects on how an ancient Greek poet continues to shape modern painting, sculpture, and literature across seventy nations.

"The heart of the young Gascon beat high, not with fear, there was no shadow of it, but with emulation; he fought like an enraged tiger..."

A review quotes a lively translation of Dumas, describing D'Artagnan's wild, unorthodox fencing style as he defends his companions.

"My head swam, my throat burned, my eyes grew dim. I thought that the ground was shaking under my feet..."

In the serial memoir Marston, the narrator describes the overwhelming panic of rising to deliver his first speech to a packed House of Commons.

What It's Really About

This issue wrestles with the tension between individual genius and the chaotic march of history. Across its diverse contents, it asks how extraordinary individuals—whether ancient poets, mountain bishops, bold duelists, or visionary philosophers—assert their will against their times. The text contrasts the permanent monuments of human thought, such as classical epic poetry and fine art, with the volatile, fleeting conflicts of modern life, from American wilderness expansion to parliamentary power struggles and revolutionary wars. Beneath its varied surfaces, the collection explores how culture, discipline, and intellect prevent human society from sliding into mere noise and political chaos.

Why Read It Today

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine offers a direct window into the vibrant intellectual life of the early Victorian era. Reading it feels like sitting in an armchair with a widely read, sharply opinionated companion who moves effortlessly from fine art criticism to frontier comedy and frontline war correspondence.

The collection demands some patience. The prose is dense, filled with period-specific political references, unedited French phrases, and the unhurried pacing characteristic of nineteenth-century publishing. Some of the social commentary and racial generalizations reflect the prejudices of its time.

Yet the issue repays the effort. The writing is vivid and exceptionally clear. The sudden shifts in topic—from high-minded philosophy to wild river chases and intense parliamentary debates—keep the narrative lively. Readers who enjoy literary history, historic journalism, or rich period detail will find a fascinating slice of Victorian print culture preserved exactly as it met its first readers.