Literary Copyright Reform in Early Victorian England

1. Introduction: the 1842 Act - passage and position; Copyright - its nature and history; Talfourd and his aims; Conflicting rationales; 2. Petitions and copyright: Petitioning - parliamentary history and background; Petitions; forms and formalities; Petitions; volume and subjects; 3. Critics in Parliament: The Radical nexus; Political cross-currents; Brougham; Macaulay; 4. Critics in the book trade I: print workers and their allies: Printers; Master Printers; Journeymen; Compositors; Pressmen; Machinemen; The dispute spreads - journeymen 1839–40; The process of diffusion; Associated trades; Bookbinders; Papermakers; Other print-related specialisms; Supporters of cheap print; Camp followers; 5. Critics in the book trade II: publishing and publishers: the book trade and authors; Cheap publications: the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge; Cheap Publications - the book trade; Co-operation and organisation; The campaign against the bills; Publisher's petitions; Other means of protest; 6. The campaign in the daily press; London dailies; The Times; The Morning Chronicle; The Morning Post; Evening Papers; The Globe; The Courier; 7. Authors and the beginnings of authors' organisations: Southey; Wordsworth: campaign manager; The making of the case for the bill: petitions in favour; The argument in the periodicals; 9. Conclusion.