THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

10 April 1919

            Founded in 1902, the Times Literary Supplement (TLS) was created as a supplemental magazine to The Times, focusing on the publication, dispensation, and critical interpretation of the best British literature across forms.  Evidence suggests that Virginia Woolf first began publishing book reviews in the TLS in 1906.  The TLS became a publication independent of The Times in 1914, and five years later, Woolf’s essay “Modern Novels” was published.  Very much a product of the conservative tastes of its editors, the TLS went to great pains to establish itself as the premier voice in English publishing.  Judging by its circulation numbers, by far the largest of any similar publication by the time Woolf published “Modern Novels” in 1919, we can be certain that it succeeded.  Following the publication of Woolf’s essay, a general shift in what it allowed to be published is discernable, although whether or not such a shift can be owed to Woolf’s influence is not.  As tastes changed and the scope of its readership came to encompass a broader swathe of the English reading public, the magazine’s content and editorial practices became more democratic, favoring authors like Patricia Highsmith, Philip Larkin, and Gore Vidal.  In the modern day, the magazine focuses on the publication of short fiction, critical essays, and reviews, and enjoys the same reputation today as it had in Woolf’s day.