Heroism in Victorian Periodicals 1850 – 1900

Nineteenth century Britain was an age of rapid technological, political and societal change. This was also reflected in the media: Industrially-produced print media opened a mass market with publications for almost any (niche-) interest one could think of. The societal changes also resulted in a growing need for orientation which in many publications was answered using the semantics of the heroic. As guiding figures, heroes were supposed to offer role models for a variety different readerships. By analysing Chambers’s Journal, Fraser’s Magazine and Leisure Hour, this study analyses different conceptions of the heroic on the Victorian print market and shows how the heroic was used for different didactic, social and political purposes in addressing different readerships within the context of changing power structures.