A Change of Ownership

The war in the Crimea dragged on for nearly another eighteen months, bringing with it the horrors of Scutari and news of the appalling lack of medical attention — until the arrival of Florence Nightingale — all dutifully reported in the London papers. Day after day The Standard printed long lists of the troops who had died, many from cholera, dysentery and associated diseases. Thanks to Delane, and Russell’s hard-hitting despatches describing the misery and the chaos, the circulation of The Times continued to soar, and by the preliminary peace in February 1856, it was selling more than 40,000 copies daily.