Isambard Kingdom Brunel's SS Great Western completed its maiden voyage from Bristol to New York in April 1838 in just 15 days — half the typical sailing time — inaugurating reliable scheduled steam crossings of the Atlantic.

The shrinking of the Atlantic by steam inspired Tennyson's 'Locksley Hall,' which envisioned aerial networks and global communication. This technological advancement also enabled the rapid exchange of literary magazines and books between Britain and America, significantly shaping mid-Victorian poetry and transatlantic literary dialogue.