The Spectator (1711) - Readership

Readership

Despite a modest daily circulation of approximately 3,000 copies, The Spectator was widely read; Joseph Addison estimated that each number was read by 60,000 Londoners, about a tenth of the capital's population at the time. Contemporary historians and literary scholars, meanwhile, do not consider this to be an unreasonable claim; most readers were not themselves subscribers but patrons of one of the subscribing coffeehouses. These readers came from many stations in society, but the paper catered principally to the interests of England's emerging middle class—merchants and traders large and small.

Jürgen Habermas sees The Spectator as instrumental in the "structural transformation of the public sphere" which England saw in the 18th century. He argues that this transformation came about because of, and in the interests of, the middle class. Although The Spectator declares itself to be politically neutral, it was widely recognised as promoting Whig values and interests.

The Spectator was also popular and widely read in the late 18th and 19th century. It was sold in eight-volume editions. Its prose style, and its marriage of morality and advice with entertainment, were considered exemplary. The decline in its popularity has been discussed by Brian McCrea and C. S. Lewis.