In American Little Magazines of the Fin de Siecle, Kirsten MacLeod examines the rise of a new print media form – the little magazine – and its relationship to the transformation of American cultural life at the turn of the twentieth century. Though the little magazine has long been regarded as the preserve of modernist avant-gardes and elite artistic coteries, for whom it served as a form of resistance to mass media, MacLeod’s detailed study of its origins paints a different picture. Combining cultural, textual, literary, and media studies criticism, MacLeod demonstrates how the little magazine was deeply connected to the artistic, social, political, and cultural interests of a rising professional-managerial class. She offers a richly contextualized analysis of the little magazine’s position in the broader media landscape: namely, its relationship to old and new media, including pre-industrial print forms, newspapers, mass-market magazines, fine press books, and posters. MacLeod’s study challenges conventional understandings of the little magazine as a genre and emphasizes the power of “little” media in a mass-market context.

Kirsten MacLeod is a lecturer in English Literature at Newcastle University (UK).

Kirsten MacLeod's profile page

• Winner, The Research Society for American Periodicals Book Prize

"MacLeod’s book provides a valuable introduction that includes both an overview of this era and a firm justification for its inclusion within the province of scholarly research."

<em>Journal of Magazine Media </em>

"This is an absorbing account of an overlooked moment in the history of modern periodicals and one that many working in the field will appreciate. It is also a beautifully produced book, with a number of colour plates illustrating some of the curious 'freak periodicals' that helped shape the format and nature of the 'little magazine' for the twentieth century."

<em>Literature and History</em>

"American Little Magazines of the Fin de Siècle is an important historical and cultural study, enriching our understanding of this neglected moment in media and publishing history and opens new avenues for research and inquiry."

<em>University of Toronto Quarterly: Letters in Canada 2018</em>

"MacLeod’s book is […] a work of profound generosity that has opened up the world of fin de siècle publishing in manifold ways. I, for one, am eternally grateful for her efforts and will be returning to this book again and again over the years as an invaluable research companion. And as an aesthete I will pore over the beautiful reproductions of the pages of these magazines, delighted to own what is one of the most stylish and attractive academic books I have come across."

<em>Journal of American Studies</em>

"[American Little Magazines of the Fin de Siecle] is a very comprehensive effort, and has something for everyone, from text and interpretation to research tools."

The Journal of American Culture 41.4.