Any suggestions?

As I've said before, this blog's going to get crammed with articles from the Spectator archives.  You've already seen one of them already, as well as a classic piece from our 1711 forbear.  Many, many more have been earmarked for inclusion.  

We'd love to hear your suggestions as well.  Is there any event - from the past 180 years - that you'd like to see the Spectator's original take on?  Or would you like the work of any particular Spectator writers to have the dust blown off it, and posted up here?  Just write your suggestions in the comments section below.

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The Spectator team

A photo of (most of) the current Spectator team:

Back row (behind sofa): Ann Sindall, Michael Heath, James Forsyth, Mark Amory, Clare Asquith, Peter Hoskin
Front row (on sofa): Martin Vander Weyer, Clarke Hayes, Matthew d'Ancona, Liz Anderson, Fraser Nelson

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The horror endures

There’s another noteworthy anniversary this year, although one altogether more macabre than that being enjoyed by The Spectator.  It’s 120 years since ‘Jack the Ripper’ murdered five prostitutes in the East End of London, and captured the public imagination as he did so.  Here – from the archives – is the Spectator’s take on it all:

The Whitechapel Horrors
The Spectator, October 6th, 1888 

That Whitechapel should lose its head over the recent murders is natural enough, and not otherwise than creditable to Whitechapel. For the people of a limited though populous district...

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Looking back to 1711

The 1828 version of The Spectator is not without precedent.  On 1 March, 1711, Joseph Addison and Richard Steele released a pamphlet under the same name.  It would last until December 1712, although Addison briefly resurrected it in 1714 with different collaborators.  That's some 635 issues in total – a body which would inspire and inform the later incarnation.

With its self-stated aim of uniting “merriment and decency”, Addison and Steele's publication was the mouthpiece of the Enlightenment (indeed, its tagline read ex fumo dare lucem [“to turn the darkness to light”]). ...

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Welcome to The Spectator 180th anniversary blog

It’s 180 years since Robert Stephen Rintoul picked up where Addison and Steele had left off, and founded The Spectator as we know it today. Welcome to our special blog celebrating that anniversary. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be dipping into our bulging archives to bring you articles by everyone from Graham Greene to Nigella Lawson. And you can expect plenty of new writing, interviews and video pieces as well. All of this will soon be supplemented by a commemorative issue of the magazine – but, in the meantime, we hope you enjoy this particular treasure trove.

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