My Project focuses on the relationship between Russian emigres and key British figures at the end of the Victorian era. Many fascinating characters play pivotal roles, from an assassin turned intellectual to a former and future British prime minister. Each played a crucial role in influencing the course of Anglo-Russian relations in this period. But the most interesting is William Stead, perhaps the first Tabloid Journalist and a man who lived a truly interesting life.
Early Career and the Northern Echo
William Thomas Stead was born on the 5 July 1849 in Northumberland, the son of a reverend and a strict nonconformist, he was sent to boarding school in Wakefield at the age of 12. He began his journalistic career at the Northern Echo in 1870 and remarkably became the editor in 1871. His first major foray into politics was his campaign against the Contagious Diseases Act. This law allowed police officers to arrest any woman suspected of being a prostitute. He worked alongside Josephine Butler, a feminist and women's suffrage activist. He played a crucial role in gathering support, eventually resulting in its repeal in 1886.
His next great campaign is where he enters my research with his campaign against British support for the Ottoman Empire during the Bulgarian atrocities. A period in which thousands of civilians in the Ottoman Balkan provinces were massacred as the Ottoman government attempted to end a rebellion. His press campaign and work with Madame Novikoff dubbed the 'MP for Russia, ' a prominent Russian émigré operating amongst the top circles of London society, forced the British government to not stand against the Russian armed forces who invaded the Balkans to end the violence. This action gained him notoriety and lavish praise from across Britain, with Gladstone benefitting from his campaign and becoming prime minister in 1880, defeating the Tory politician Benjamin Disraeli who had, at the minimum, not been active in ending the massacre of Civilians. From this point onwards, Stead became a great admirer and defender of Russia and its Tsar, with him meeting both Alexander III and Nicholas II in 1888 and 1898, respectively.
The Pall Mall Gazette
In 1880, Stead became the deputy editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, now the London Evening Standard, where he would reach the peak of his fame and notoriety. Stead was known as someone who was exceptionally difficult to work with, as many of his associates, colleagues, and friends made comments to that effect. At the Gazette, he made innovations in journalism, such as including his own opinions during interviews, which he was also an early proponent of, and creating striking headlines and subheadings that had been generally dull before. A prominent defender of British imperialism and the need for Christian morality, his next famous moment was after the famous Relief expedition for General Gordon in the Sudan, which had failed. He ran the headline 'TOO LATE!' reminiscent of many of the tabloids that operate in the British landscape today.
But by far, his most scandalous and morally questionable moment came in his campaign against child prostitution in 1885. With the help of the head of the Salvation Army and Josephine Butler, Stead bought a 13-year-old girl named Eliza Armstrong from her mother for £5. He played the role of a purchaser and potential abuser but, in fact, sent her to France, where she was cared for by a Salvationist family. His articles on these actions, which ran under the title 'The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon', drew attention to the issue of child slavery and prostitution in Britain and led to a bill to deal with the problem by raising the age of consent from 13 to 16 in Britain with the act later dubbed the 'stead act'. Yet the fact that he had, in effect, abducted a young person despite his claimed noble intentions led to much scandal, with W.H. Smith, the largest newsstand at the time, refusing to sell the article and his imprisonment for 3 months in prison for the crime of abduction. His article would inspire George Bernard Shaw's famous play Pygmalion.
Later Career
He left the Gazette in 1889 but continued as a prominent journalist. He later had a career as a pacifist and a publisher of paperbacks, mainly classic literature and fairy tales. His campaigns for peace would earn him both condemnation and praise but did earn him nominations for the Nobel Prize. Yet, simultaneously, he was a key influence on Cecil Rhodes and his confidant. This imperialist founded the nation Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and took his name based on his exploitation of local populations as well as the resources of the territory. For his whole life, Stead remained a lifelong supporter of Russia and its government, and his friendship with Madame Novikoff would shape much of his life and lead to him writing her biography.
Stead met almost every prominent person his age, meeting as varied people as the French Prime Minister Arthur Conan Doyle and Christabel Pankhurst. Yet his legacy as a journalist was most seen by those he inspired, namely William Randolph Hearst, who is seen as the main inspiration for Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane.
Stead would die at the age of 62 not of natural causes but as one of the many victims of the sinking of the Titanic. He would be remembered as the greatest journalist of his age and a pioneer of a new form of news that would come to dominate our press. Never far from scandal, Stead played a hugely influential role in areas as diverse as the buildup of the British Navy and a shift in policy towards Russia and relations with Venezuela.
Poster Image available at: http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/thespis/reviews/pallmall.html
Image of William Stead, available at: Search media - Wikimedia Commons