Jennie Batchelor has written a wonderfully confessional account of what it means to be a periodical scholar in conjunction with her work on the Lady’s Magazine. Key paragraph here:
I like working with periodicals because they are so infuriating. I like them because every time I think I may be starting to understand what they are about they wrong-foot me and suggestion other, equally plausible, possibilities.
Absolutely true about the work and part of what makes that work utterly rewarding.
To Be An Electric Telegraph 