
Secret Commissions
An Anthology of Victorian Investigative Journalism
Broadview Press Ltd
Published on 12. September 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-55111-330-2 (ISBN)
Description
Lurid, controversial, and vulnerable to accusations of titillation or rabble-rousing, the works of Victorian investigative journalism collected here nonetheless brought unseen suffering into the light of day. Even today their exposure has the power to shock. As one investigator promised: ""The Report of our Secret Commission will be read to-day with a shuddering horror that will thrill throughout the world.""
<em>Secret Commissions</em> brings together nineteen key documents of Victorian investigative journalism. Their authors range from well-known writers such as Charles Dickens, Henry Mayhew, and W.T. Stead to now forgotten names such as Hugh Shimmin, Elizabeth Banks, and Olive Malvery. Collectively, they show how unsparing descriptions of social injustice became regular features of English journalism long before the advent of American-style ""muckraking."" The reports address topics as varied as child abuse, animal cruelty, juvenile prostitution, sweat shops, slums, gypsies, abortion, infanticide, and other controversial social issues. The collection features detailed chapter introductions, original illustrations, a historical overview of investigative reporting in the nineteenth-century press, and suggestions for further reading.
<em>Secret Commissions</em> brings together nineteen key documents of Victorian investigative journalism. Their authors range from well-known writers such as Charles Dickens, Henry Mayhew, and W.T. Stead to now forgotten names such as Hugh Shimmin, Elizabeth Banks, and Olive Malvery. Collectively, they show how unsparing descriptions of social injustice became regular features of English journalism long before the advent of American-style ""muckraking."" The reports address topics as varied as child abuse, animal cruelty, juvenile prostitution, sweat shops, slums, gypsies, abortion, infanticide, and other controversial social issues. The collection features detailed chapter introductions, original illustrations, a historical overview of investigative reporting in the nineteenth-century press, and suggestions for further reading.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Calgary
United States
Illustrations
15
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-55111-330-2 (9781551113302)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
<strong>Stephen Donovan</strong> is a Senior Lecturer at Uppsala University, Sweden.
<strong>Matthew Rubery</strong> is a Lecturer in English Literature at Queen Mary, University of London.
<strong>Matthew Rubery</strong> is a Lecturer in English Literature at Queen Mary, University of London.