[ Gentleman's Magazine ]
The Gentleman's Magazine was an important and influential monthly magazine in the 18th and 19th Centuries; it began in 1731, ceased regular publication in 1907, and shut down completely in 1922.
The March of 1847 issue carried a review of a just- republished book of English history, History of the Counter-Revolution in England by Armand Carrel (1800 – 1836), a French journalist and political writer who was killed in a duel — his third.
The anonymous reviewer begins the review by lamenting that in recent years "few works of importance have appeared," which leads him to lament the challenging circumstances under which Carrel wrote his book:
From an interesting memoir of the unfortunate author we learn that it was written on the counter of a bookseller's back shop, where he was a partner, caressing at intervals a favourite Newfoundland dog. These circumstances, which may have interfered with the author's researches, though these are respectable, place his genius in a more striking leight, and make us regret that his means and opportunities were not greater. (273)