''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 physi ...

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 b ...

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, buying an ...

of the day.

Content

Included were articles on cooking,

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 ...

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 practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

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 of art, work, often a work of Narrative, narrative fiction, is published in smaller, sequential instalments. The instalments are also known as ''numbers'', ...

s, most of which concerned women and were essentially

morality tale The morality play is a genre of medieval and early Tudor drama. The term is used by scholars of literary and dramatic history to refer to a genre of play texts from the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries that feature personified concepts ( ...

s. 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 in ...

s, often of ruined abbeys and castles. The Family Friend gives insight into the general tone of Victorian 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. Retrieved November 21, 2013.

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

Content

Duration and circulation

See also

Footnotes