Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 68, No. 421, November 1850

In Short

This issue of Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine gathers serial literature, historical study, legal analysis, and political opinion into a cohesive portrait of Victorian intellectual life. Through serialized fiction like Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s novel My Novel, historical accounts of Prussian military diplomacy, legal scrutinies of the M’Naughten insanity precedent, reviews of social novels such as Alton Locke, and heated arguments against the renewal of the income tax, the periodical balances imaginative storytelling with urgent national debates. It has endured as an indispensable primary record of nineteenth-century British cultural, legal, and political thought.

The Story

The volume opens with literary reflection and serialized storytelling through the narrative voice of the Caxton family and Pisistratus Caxton. In conversational dialogues, the characters deliberate on the structural rules of novel-writing, citing classic authors like Henry Fielding to justify introductory chapters and chorus-like commentary. Within the narrative proper, young Randal Leslie exhibits a calculating ambition, rejecting the impoverished status of his family and symbolism by stripping a bough to kick away stepping-stones across a brook after crossing, vowing never to return to his modest past. Alongside his story moves the life of Audley Egerton, a dedicated Member of Parliament and minister who navigates high public office, balancing quiet personal anxiety with compelling speeches on the floor of the House of Commons.

Shifted from domestic fiction to international history, the magazine explores the geopolitical partnership between Great Britain and Prussia during the eighteenth century. The historical survey details how Britain’s naval power complemented Prussia’s land army under Frederick the Great. Through the diplomatic despatches of the British envoy Andrew Mitchell, the narrative recounts the horrors and tactical realities of the Seven Years' War, depicting brutal battles like Zorndorf, where massive artillery fire and powder explosions left tens of thousands wounded or dead. The account highlights the decisive role of Prussian cavalry and preserves Mitchell’s sharp, witty exchanges with King Frederick.

The focus then transitions to dramatic literature and jurisprudence. A critical survey of Spanish drama champions Gabriel Tellez (Tirso de Molina), defending national dramatic traditions against rigid classical rules. This is followed by a rigorous legal investigation into criminal accountability and the insanity defense. Examining the landmark responses of judges regarding partial delusions, the text scrutinizes the historical trials of Edward Oxford, who shot at Queen Victoria, and Edward M'Naughten, who assassinated Mr. Drummond. It contrasts the humane postponement granted to M'Naughten with the hasty trial and execution of John Bellingham thirty years earlier, while providing a first-hand account of an interview with Oxford inside Bethlehem Hospital.

The volume turns to contemporary literary and social critiques, reviewing radical fiction like Charles Kingsley’s Alton Locke. It follows the journey of Alton, a tailor-turned-poet who joins the Chartist movement, travels to Cambridge, and experiences the deep class divides of industrial England. Finally, the issue culminates in a trenchant political editorial attacking the British government's reliance on the Property and Income Tax. The piece denounces ministerial broken promises, argues against the unfair operational burdens placed on the public, and calls upon the British electorate to demand a complete revision of the national financial system.

How It Unfolds

Deliberating the craft of fiction The issue begins with Pisistratus Caxton and his father debating the artistic necessity of introductory chapters in long narrative works. Mr. Caxton defends the practice using Fielding's essays, arguing that set-piece pauses provide essential intellectual balance and structural relief for the reader.

Unfolding ambition and public duty The serialized narrative introduces Randal Leslie as he dramatically destroys a river crossing after stepping over, declaring his absolute determination to rise above his family's poverty. Meanwhile, the politician Audley Egerton silently carries heavy personal cares while maintaining his formidable public presence in Parliament.

Recounting Prussian military glory The magazine shifts to historical prose, tracing the diplomatic and military alliance between England and Frederick the Great's Prussia. It draws directly on the vivid despatches of British envoy Andrew Mitchell to depict the brutal realities of Seven Years' War battlefields and the decisive impact of cavalry charges.

Examining law and insanity A comprehensive legal analysis investigates the boundaries of criminal responsibility when an accused party suffers from insane delusions. The article re-examines the landmark trials of Oxford and M'Naughten, contrasting their legal proceedings with the hasty execution of Bellingham and reflecting on a personal interview with Oxford in confinement.

Critiquing social literature The text reviews modern social novels, focusing on Alton Locke and its portrayal of working-class struggle, Chartist activism, and tailor trade unions. While acknowledging the vivid depiction of industrial misery, the critic highlights structural flaws and unrealistic portrayals of university life.

Rallying against the income tax The issue concludes with a sharp economic editorial opposing the Whig administration's plan to extend the Property and Income Tax. The writer argues that temporary war taxes have been dishonestly transformed into permanent burdens, demanding a complete overhaul of British taxation.

The People

• Mr. Caxton: A scholarly, dogmatic patriarch who views literature through classical rules and historical precedents. He insists on structural pauses in novel-writing to elevate fiction beyond mere entertainment.
• Pisistratus Caxton: A pragmatic young author who questions literary conventions and worries that reflective introductory chapters disrupt narrative momentum and alienate readers.
• Randal Leslie: A cold, fiercely ambitious young man born into an impoverished gentry family. He views knowledge strictly as a instrument for acquiring power and wealth, deliberately cutting off his past to force his upward rise.
• Audley Egerton: An esteemed Member of Parliament and high-ranking government minister. He presents a controlled, polished exterior to the public while privately carrying undisclosed burdens that drive him to intense, restless isolation.
• Sir Andrew Mitchell: The astute, sharp-witted British envoy to the court of Frederick the Great. He accompanies the Prussian king directly onto violent battlefields, recording historical events with dry humor, stamina, and diplomatic poise.
• Edward Oxford: A young man confined for firing a pistol at Queen Victoria. In conversation, he appears calm, rational, and surprisingly articulate, claiming his act was driven entirely by a foolish desire for notoriety rather than treasonous intent.
• Alton Locke: A working-class tailor and aspiring poet who becomes involved in the Chartist political movement. He navigates extreme economic hardship, trade union agitation, and cultural displacement across class boundaries.

In Its Own Voice

"At each flight in the terrace, you may give the eye the relief of an urn or a statue."

Mr. Caxton defends the use of introductory chapters in long novels as necessary artistic pauses.

"We are on the other side of the brook now; and we shall not come back this way. We don't want the stepping-stones any more!--away with them!"

Randal Leslie cold-bloodedly destroys a footbridge after crossing it, signaling his ruthless ambition.

"Sire, we hope, with God's assistance, to make a better one next year... and he is the only one of our allies that costs us nothing."

British envoy Andrew Mitchell offers a witty retort to Frederick the Great regarding military setbacks and costly international alliances.

What It's Really About

Beneath its varied contents, this volume explores the tension between institutional stability and individual ambition during a period of rapid social transition. The literary essays examine how art must balance formal structural discipline with raw human emotion. The legal and historical papers struggle with the moral obligations of the state, questioning how a society ought to define mental responsibility in criminal law and manage foreign alliances during international crises. Finally, the political and social critiques confront the growing economic friction between classes, questioning whether existing legislative frameworks and tax policies fairly serve the public or merely protect political self-interest.

Why Read It Today

This issue of Blackwood’s offers an immersive, unfiltered window into the intellectual culture of mid-nineteenth-century Britain. Readers who enjoy Victorian prose, military history, early forensic psychiatry, and political philosophy will find themselves completely engaged by its breadth. The writing carries the distinctive cadence of 1850s periodical journalism—direct, erudite, and unsparingly opinionated.

The volume does present clear period challenges. Sentences are long and syntactically complex, filled with untranslated French phrases, classical references, and detailed legal statutes that demand patient reading. Furthermore, the political essays reflect the conservative prejudices of the era, occasionally dismissing radical working-class movements with sharp partisan hostility.

What remains compelling, however, is the sheer intellectual energy of the issue. The eyewitness accounts of Prussian warfare, the candid conversation inside a Victorian asylum, and the fierce debates over taxation feel surprisingly modern in their intensity. It is a rewarding read for anyone who wants to experience how nineteenth-century thinkers debated the very issues—crime, war, art, and governance—that continue to shape our world today.