Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Foreword
- Dramatis Personae
- Chapter I Backdrop
- Chapter II A Conspiracy
- Chapter III The Intruder from the North
- Chapter IV An Inauspicious Start
- Chapter V Portrait of a Newspaper
- Chapter VI The Sequel
- Epilogue
- Appendix I The ‘Poisonous Pen’ of John Gibson Lockhart
- Appendix II John Wilson Croker as a Literary Critic
- Acknowledgements
- Bibliography
- Index
Chapter III - The Intruder from the North
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Foreword
- Dramatis Personae
- Chapter I Backdrop
- Chapter II A Conspiracy
- Chapter III The Intruder from the North
- Chapter IV An Inauspicious Start
- Chapter V Portrait of a Newspaper
- Chapter VI The Sequel
- Epilogue
- Appendix I The ‘Poisonous Pen’ of John Gibson Lockhart
- Appendix II John Wilson Croker as a Literary Critic
- Acknowledgements
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
At the same time that correspondents were being hired, the offices that would house the newspaper were being installed. The choice of George Basevi as the architect in charge of remodelling the building in Great George Street provides an indication of the high leverage the creators of the newspaper intended it to have, as everything related to the project, be it publisher, premises, or the professionals who would work for it, had to be the best of the best. Although it would have been natural to suppose that George Basevi's name may at first have been suggested to John Murray by his friends, Mr and Mrs D'Israeli, in reality the publisher and the architect, had known each other since before 1814. Besides, Isaac D'Israeli was known not to be over fond of his wife's relative and would not have recommended him. Young Benjamin, for his part, was unlikely to have suggested the name of a cousin on his mother's side who was already a renowned and successful professional in his field, although only a few years older than himself.
It cannot be conclusively established how much of the remodelling work Basevi actually managed to complete. There are references in letters of the period to the fact that the building was not finished by January 1826, when the Representative started publication, as for instance, a communication from chief reporter William Henry Watts to John Murray, complaining of the difficulties reporters were experiencing in having to write the parliamentary reports in Great George Street while the composition and the printing of the paper was being done elsewhere. The original plan was to build an extension to the back of the premises in Great George Street that would house the steam-powered printing machine that had been bought for the purpose.
In his letter of 26 January 1826, Watts recommends that they rent some rooms in Northumberland Court for the reporters to work in, as the distance between Great George Street and the printers was considerable. Northumberland Court was the address of printer William Clowes, who was going to print the newspaper while the designated offices were being prepared.
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- Benjamin Disraeli and John Murray: The Politician, The Publisher and The Representative , pp. 47 - 66Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 2016