Christian Isobel Johnstone
Encyclopedia
Christian Isobel Johnstone (1781 – 1857) was a prolific journalist and author in Scotland in the nineteenth century. She was a significant early feminist
and an advocate of other liberal causes in her era.
She was likely the Christian Todd who was born on 12 June 1781 in the Edinburgh
parish of St. Cuthbert. She married at the age of sixteen, to an Edinburgh printer named Thomas McCleish; they separated in 1805, and she divorced him in 1814. Christian married John Johnstone, a Dunfermline
schoolmaster turned Edinburgh printer, in June 1815.
Christian Isobel Johnstone wrote a number of popular fiction works in three and four volumes, for adults and juvenile readers. Her novel Clan-Albin: A National Tale (1815
) was perhaps her best-known work; she also wrote The Saxon and the Gaël (1814
), and "her best novel," Elizabeth de Bruce (1827
), among other titles. Johnstone also wrote non-fiction books on a range of subjects, like Scenes of Industry Displayed in the Beehive and the Anthill (1827) and The Lives and Voyages of Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier (1831
). These books, like most of Johnstone's volumes, were printed anonymously. Her The Cook and Housewife's Manual (1826) was issued under the pseudonym Margaret Dods. It was only late in her life, as with The Edinburgh Tales (1846
), that she was identified by name on her title pages.
She and her second husband started and ran several periodicals — The Schoolmaster, The Edinburgh Weekly Magazine, and others. In 1832
, the year of the first Reform Bill
, the Johnstones founded Johnstone's Edinburgh Magazine as a voice for the causes they favored. The periodical struggled financially, and in 1834
it was combined with another new journal, Tait's Magazine
. (The Johnstones insisted that the cover price of Tait's be cut by more than half, to 1 shilling per copy, to make the magazine available to the widest possible audience.) Isobel Johnstone continued as a major contributor to Tait's, and in effect served as the magazine's editor under publisher William Tait; she was "the first woman to serve as paid editor of a major Victorian periodical...."
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
and an advocate of other liberal causes in her era.
She was likely the Christian Todd who was born on 12 June 1781 in the Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
parish of St. Cuthbert. She married at the age of sixteen, to an Edinburgh printer named Thomas McCleish; they separated in 1805, and she divorced him in 1814. Christian married John Johnstone, a Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
schoolmaster turned Edinburgh printer, in June 1815.
Christian Isobel Johnstone wrote a number of popular fiction works in three and four volumes, for adults and juvenile readers. Her novel Clan-Albin: A National Tale (1815
1815 in literature
The year 1815 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The Brothers Grimm complete the writing of Grimms' Fairy Tales.* First publication of the North American Review.-New books:*John Agg - A Month at Brussels...
) was perhaps her best-known work; she also wrote The Saxon and the Gaël (1814
1814 in literature
The year 1814 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* In England, a revolutionary steam-powered press prints the Times newspaper at a rate of 1100 copies per hour.-New books:*Jane Austen — Mansfield Park...
), and "her best novel," Elizabeth de Bruce (1827
1827 in literature
The year 1827 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Samuel G. Goodrich publishes the first of the "Peter Parley" juvenile novels that would continue until 1860....
), among other titles. Johnstone also wrote non-fiction books on a range of subjects, like Scenes of Industry Displayed in the Beehive and the Anthill (1827) and The Lives and Voyages of Drake, Cavendish, and Dampier (1831
1831 in literature
The year 1831 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* January 15 - Victor Hugo completed his novel Notre-Dame de Paris, known in English as The Hunchback of Notre Dame....
). These books, like most of Johnstone's volumes, were printed anonymously. Her The Cook and Housewife's Manual (1826) was issued under the pseudonym Margaret Dods. It was only late in her life, as with The Edinburgh Tales (1846
1846 in literature
The year 1846 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*First publication of the Daily News, edited by Charles Dickens....
), that she was identified by name on her title pages.
She and her second husband started and ran several periodicals — The Schoolmaster, The Edinburgh Weekly Magazine, and others. In 1832
1832 in literature
The year 1832 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The Houghton Mifflin publishing house founded in Boston, Massachusetts* Publishers begin the use of a paper jacket to wrap book covers...
, the year of the first Reform Bill
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
, the Johnstones founded Johnstone's Edinburgh Magazine as a voice for the causes they favored. The periodical struggled financially, and in 1834
1834 in literature
The year 1834 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*William Harrison Ainsworth -Rookwood*Carl Jonas Love Almquist - Drottningens juvelsmycke*Honoré de Balzac - Le père Goriot...
it was combined with another new journal, Tait's Magazine
Tait's Magazine
Tait's Edinburgh Magazine was a monthly periodical founded in 1832. It was an important venue for liberal political views, as well as contemporary cultural and literary developments, in early-to-mid-nineteenth century Britain....
. (The Johnstones insisted that the cover price of Tait's be cut by more than half, to 1 shilling per copy, to make the magazine available to the widest possible audience.) Isobel Johnstone continued as a major contributor to Tait's, and in effect served as the magazine's editor under publisher William Tait; she was "the first woman to serve as paid editor of a major Victorian periodical...."