The Captain, magazine for boys, October 1922

''The Captain'' was a magazine featuring stories and articles for "boys and old boys", published monthly in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

from 1899 to 1924. Its headquarters were in London. It is perhaps best known for printing many of

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

's early school stories. The magazine was established in April 1899 by publisher

George Newnes Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet (13 March 1851 – 9 June 1910) was a British publisher and editor and a founding figure in popular journalism. Newnes also served as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for two decades. His company, George Newnes ...

, with R. S. Warren Bell as its first editor. Authors who contributed to ''The Captain'' include P. G. Wodehouse, F. C. Selous, Bertram Mitford,

C. B. Fry Charles Burgess Fry (25 April 1872 – 7 September 1956) was an English sportsman, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricketer. John Arlott described him with the words: "Charles Fry could b ...

(the Athletic Editor),

Edward Step Edward Step FLS (11 November 1855 – 1931) was the author of many popular and specialist books on various aspects of nature. His many works on botany, zoology and mycology were published between 1894 and (posthumously) 1941. Some of his books o ...

, Dr Gordon Stables, Harold Avery, E. H. D. Sewell, and Charles Gilson. Artists who provided illustrations include Tom Browne,

Paul Hardy Paul Jude Hardy (born October 18, 1942) is an American attorney from Baton Rouge, in the U.S. state of Louisiana, who was the first Republican to have been elected lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He ser ...

, Alfred Pearse, and John Hassall. The editor Warren Bell's brother, John Keble Bell, also contributed under the pen name Keble Howard. Howard suggested turning the magazine into a pure athletics magazine, aiming at an undergraduate audience, but Warren Bell decided against the idea. Some of the school stories by Wodehouse published in the magazine were featured in the collection '' Tales of St. Austin's'' (1903). The magazine also serialised several early novels by Wodehouse, including ''Jackson Junior'' and ''The Lost Lambs'', which were later combined to form the book ''

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...

'' (1909), and introduced to the world Wodehouse's enduringly popular character,

Psmith Rupert Psmith (or Ronald Eustace Psmith, as he is called in the last of the four books in which he appears) is a recurring fictional character in several novels by British author P. G. Wodehouse, being one of Wodehouse's best-loved characters. ...

Frank Swinnerton Frank Arthur Swinnerton (12 August 1884 – 6 November 1982) was an English novelist, critic, biographer and essayist. He was the author of more than 50 books, and as a publisher's editor helped other writers including Aldous Huxley and Lytton S ...

(1938) says of ''The Captain'': "''It was a good magazine, and there was nothing pious in it about prayers and such disagreeables, but stories and articles fit to be read by the self-respecting of tender years''." A bibliography, history and index has been compiled by

Chris Harte Chris Harte is an American newspaper executive and publisher. He has published newspapers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Akron, Ohio, Portland, Maine and State College, Pennsylvania. He was a corporate executive for Knight Ridder Newspapers and for ...

References

1899 establishments in the United Kingdom 1924 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Children's magazines published in the United Kingdom Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines published in London Magazines established in 1899 Magazines disestablished in 1924 {{UK-mag-stub