The centrality of the Victorian periodical press to almost every aspect of Victorian studies has long been acknowledged by scholars of the period. So far no general or systematic study of that press has been undertaken. The Victorian Periodical Press: Samplings and Soundings is a collection of original essays, each of which examines an important aspect of the history of the periodical press. It includes studies of the organization and production of specific periodicals; analyses of the contents and the influence of publications designed for a particular readership; and explorations of the involvement of major literary figures with the periodical press, as well as more broadly based studies of the emergence and significance of the techniques of mass sterilization, the role of the press in the activities of pressure groups, and the involvement of periodicals in the art exhibition system and in the development of literary criticism.

The contributors are literary and social historians who have either made a special study of the Victorian periodical press or who have made extensive use of Victorian periodicals in the course of research on the Victorian period.