The Penny magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

The Penny Magazine of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge was published in competition to Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, which started two months earlier. Costing just one penny, it was aimed at the working class and needed broad circulation in order to survive. Initially successful, its content proved to miss the mark and be of more interest to the upper classes and folded after a couple of years. It's format was to offer short essays on a variety of topics the paternalistic publisher deemed important to its readership. (Summary by LynneT) (1 hr 17 min)

Chapters

Reading for All 5:06 Read by Larry Wilson
Charing Cross 5:12 Read by David Lawrence
Van Diemen's Land 9:59 Read by Beeswaxcandle
The Antiquity of Beer 3:31 Read by Anthony Will
Fair Play 4:19 Read by Phil Schempf
The Zoological Gardens 4:28 Read by Beeswaxcandle
The Week 6:59 Read by SilasF
Excellence Not Limited by Station 4:26 Read by Phil Schempf
Isaac Ashford 9:23 Read by Brize C
A Quaint Sermon 5:09 Read by mleigh
A Description of Poland 15:00 Read by Brize C
A Postscript to our First Readers 3:52 Read by Larry Wilson