10,000 Not Out: The History of The Spectator 1828 - 2020

There is no journal with a livelier and richer history than The Spectator. As well as being the world’s oldest current affairs magazine, none has been closer to spheres of power and influence in Britain. Since its first appearance in 1828, during the dying days of the Georgian era, The Spectator has been ready to spar – with the Tories and their Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington, with a corrupt political system, and with the lacklustre literary world of the day. Over the subsequent 54 Prime Ministers, The Spectator has not just watched the world go by but has waded into the fray: it has campaigned on consistently liberal lines, fighting for voters’ rights, free trade, the free press and the decriminalisation of homosexuality, while offering open-minded criticism of every modern taboo and orthodoxy. 10,000 Not Out marks the magazine’s 10,000th issue by recounting the turbulent and tortuous tale of its history, of 192 years chock-full of crises and campaigns, of literary flair and barbed wit. Eight chapters chart the evolution of the title – from radical weekly newspaper, to moralising Victorian guardian, to wartime watchdog, to satirical magazine, to High-Tory counsellor, to the irreverent but influential Spectator of the twenty-first century. The book weaves together copious quotations from the magazine’s unparalleled archive, the contemporary press, private letters and staff anecdote.