Authors and Publishers: 1750-1830

A discussion of the results of the change from private patronage to dependence on publishers for English writers in 1780-1830. It is stated that this change made these writers more 'alienated.' 2 recent books discuss this problem: Walter E. Houghton, THE VICTORIAN FRAME OF MIND, New Haven, Conn: 1957, & Edward P. Thompson, WILLIAM MORRIS: RO- MANTIC TO REVOLUTIONARY, London, England: 1955. However, the Victorian conditions which these books analyze are rooted in causes developed in an earlier period. By 1750, aristocratic patronage of writers ceased to be an effective force, & writers had to produce for the market, as personified by the publisher. Writers like W. Wordsworth, S. T. Coleridge, Lord Byron & T. Moore bitterly complained about their publishers. Examples of exploitation of writers by publishers are given, & it is suggested that writers became 'outsiders,' some of whom tried to escape into the past or into 'art for art's sake,' while others, like W. Morris, became soc rebels. I. Langnas.