''Aunt Judy's Magazine'' was a British

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

for young people founded in 1866 by

Margaret Gatty Margaret Gatty ( Scott; 3 June 1809 – 4 October 1873) was an English children's author and writer on marine biology. In some writings she argues against Charles Darwin's ''Origin of Species''. She became a popular writer of tales for young pe ...

. After her death in 1873, publishing was continued by her daughter Horatia Eden until 1885. The magazine is named after Gatty's daughter, Juliana Horatia Ewing's childhood nickname, “Judy”. As the editor, Gatty aimed to include stories that would not only benefit the

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. A ...

upbringing of children, but that would also bring joy and insight to adults. Gatty hoped that readers would continue to love the magazine for their whole life, and to pass it on for generations. When choosing what contributions to include in the magazine, Gatty kept in mind her belief that every piece in the magazine should have a moral for its reader. Gatty included a piece that she wrote in the November 1868 issue of the magazine titled “Unopened Parcels.” The story was highly moral in tone, and involves a young girl learning from her father about

repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...

. The father tells his daughter a story about his childhood, and how a friend of his learned the lesson of repentance by spending his life attempting to fix the deceit he committed on his mother. Following the telling of the story, the father asks the daughter to decipher what his story meant for herself rather than have him tell her what he believes it should mean. Gatty wanted children to learn morals, but she wanted them to come to terms with these morals on their own with simply guidance from adults. Gatty included themes of both morality and religiosity, which is consistent with many of the stories in the magazine. In 1867, the magazine published two early parts of

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

's '' Sylvie and Bruno'', entitled "Fairy Sylvie" and "Bruno's Revenge". It also published much of the work of

Juliana Horatia Ewing Juliana Horatia Ewing (née Gatty, 3 August 1841 – 13 May 1885) was an English writer of children's stories. Her writings display a sympathetic insight into children's lives, an admiration for things military, and a strong religious faith. L ...

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

made several contributions, and illustrations by

George Cruikshank George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached ...

, John Gilbert, Charles Keene, and

Randolph Caldecott Randolph Caldecott (; 22 March 1846 – 12 February 1886) was a British artist and illustrator, born in Chester. The Caldecott Medal was named in his honour. He exercised his art chiefly in book illustrations. His abilities as an artist were pro ...

also appeared.

References

Sources

* {{italic title 1866 establishments in the United Kingdom 1886 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Children's magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1866 Magazines disestablished in 1885