Popularizing the Nation examines the intersection of national identity and the popular press in nineteenth-century Germany. Central to Kirsten Belgum s study is the Gartenlaube, a magazine that first appeared in 1853 and became, by the 1870s, the most widely read magazine in Germany. In the midst of the magazine s varied fare was a host of writings that touched on the themes of the German nation and national identity.

In countless articles on culture, politics, landscape, industry, history, and other topics, the Gartenlaube played an influential role in nineteenth-century Germany s...