“The Penny Magazine” was created as a cheap periodical fulfilling both the entertaining and educational role. Financed by the “Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge”, magazine aimed at working class. Its purpose was to supply uneducated readers with information on non‑controversial topics. The whole enterprise lasted from 1832 to 1845.
Despite the ambitious goal the educational value of “The Penny Magazine” was limited. Some knowledge of history was already necessary for understanding the articles. Yet there was another dimension of education that the editor of “The Penny Magazine” seemed to aspire to – the shaping of collective identities. Historical education played an important role as a factor in nation building. “The Penny Magazine” was constantly presenting ideas of freedom as a bond unifying members of the nation around shared, common values transgressing the social class distinction.

“The Penny Magazine” was created as a cheap periodical fulfilling both the entertaining and educational role. Financed by the “Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge”, magazine aimed at working class. Its purpose was to supply uneducated readers with information on non‑controversial topics. The whole enterprise lasted from 1832 to 1845.
Despite the ambitious goal the educational value of “The Penny Magazine” was limited. Some knowledge of history was already necessary for understanding the articles. Yet there was another dimension of education that the editor of “The Penny Magazine” seemed to aspire to – the shaping of collective identities. Historical education played an important role as a factor in nation building. “The Penny Magazine” was constantly presenting ideas of freedom as a bond unifying members of the nation around shared, common values transgressing the social class distinction.