''The Family Friend'' was a
magazine published in
book
A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this phys ...
form in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
for much of the 19th century. It was a compendium of articles considered entertaining and useful, and was aimed mainly at the
housewife
A housewife (also known as a homemaker or a stay-at-home mother/mom/mum) is a woman whose role is running or managing her family's home— housekeeping, which includes caring for her children; cleaning and maintaining the home; making, buyin ...
of the day.
Content
Included were articles on
cooking
Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in vari ...
,
diet
Diet may refer to:
Food
* Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group
* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake
** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
,
lacemaking,
pattern
A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated li ...
s,
embroidery
Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen ...
, scientific discoveries, the latest explorations of the world, advice on planting and maintaining trees and vegetables,
breeding birds and animals, household tips, parenting advice, spiritual reflections and dramatic fiction. The format was varied as well, presenting prose, song, poetry, clothing patterns, and sundry other items of interest.
The advice on diet and
medicine
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...
was a mixture of the sound and the completely inaccurate. One of the more popular features was the inclusion of
serialized novel
In literature, a serial is a printing or publishing format by which a single larger work, often a work of narrative fiction, is published in smaller, sequential instalments. The instalments are also known as ''numbers'', ''parts'' or ''fascicl ...
s, most of which concerned women and were essentially
morality tales. One such was '
Katharine, a Tale of Women's Trials,' by
Mrs Burbury (no, 1, vol 7, 1854). Also popular were sentimental poems accompanied by
engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an i ...
s, often of ruined abbeys and castles. The Family Friend gives insight into the general tone of
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literature ...
households' interests and activities, and is an accurate source for
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
s and
filmmaker
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
s of
costume design
Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...
and other period details.
Duration and circulation
''The Family Friend'' was published every month by S. W. Partridge and Company of
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, from 1849 to 1921. At its height, this magazine had a circulation of about 50,000.
The Family Friend
OCLC
OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It wa ...
. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
See also
*'' The Friend'' (Quaker magazine published in London since 1843)
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Family Friend
1849 establishments in the United Kingdom
1921 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom
Defunct women's magazines published in the United Kingdom
Magazines established in 1849
Magazines disestablished in 1921
Magazines published in London