Pushing The Envelope:

Abstract

This essay argues that British domestic and imperial beliefs and identities were significantly influenced by the global postal network, which transported the words and ideas of emigrants back to England and disseminated news and opinions about the colonies throughout the mother nation. In order to make this claim I focus upon the prose of Caroline Chisholm, an Englishwoman who settled in Australia and was a tireless supporter of emigration reform in both colony and metropole. She assisted thousands of emigrants in finding jobs and housing, and penned countless letters and several influential pamphlets that powerfully impacted British beliefs about Australia, the emigrants who voyaged there, the systems of emigration and convict transportation, and the broader project of imperialism. Studying her prose as well as her influential connection with Charles Dickens illuminates the power of global postal networks to transform not only private beliefs but also government policies and practices.