The Lady's Realm
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''The Lady's Realm'' was a British women's magazine published from 1896 until 1914, possibly until 1915. It primarily targeted
upper-class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status. Usually, these are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper cla ...
readers as well as an aspirational
middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...
audience, featuring photographs, poems, fiction, and columns by popular authors such as
Marie Corelli Mary Mackay (1 May 185521 April 1924), also called Minnie Mackey and known by her pseudonym Marie Corelli (, also , ), was an English novelist. From the appearance of her first novel '' A Romance of Two Worlds'' in 1886, she became a bestselli ...
,
Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1886), ''A Little Princess'' (1905), a ...
,
Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...
, and
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
. The London
Season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
was regularly covered, with visuals of significant society figures and
débutante A debutante, also spelled débutante ( ; from , ), or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and is presented to society at a formal "debut" ( , ; ) or possibly debutante ball. Original ...
s appearing. Fashion trends in Paris and London were frequently discussed as well, particularly by its fashion editor Marian Pritchard. The publication's targeted reader was the "
New Woman The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century and had a profound influence well into the 20th century. In 1894, writer Sarah Grand (1854–1943) used the term "new woman" in an influential article to refer to indepe ...
", with enlightened ideas on education, health, independence, and employment. More successful than many of its contemporary publications, the magazine sold reasonably well in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It was a staple of women's reading rooms in public libraries, which were widespread across the UK. Relatively little is known of ''The Lady's Realm''s publishing history, as many records were destroyed during the
London Blitz London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
. Its end may have been due to the First World War.


History

Relatively little is known of ''The Lady's Realm''s publishing history, as many records of its publisher, Hutchinson, were destroyed during the
London Blitz London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...
. The first issue was published in November 1896. Its first editor was
William Henry Wilkins William Henry Wilkins (1860–1905) was an English writer, best known as a royal biographer and campaigner for immigration controls. He used the pseudonym W. H. de Winton. Life Born at Compton Martin, Somerset, on 23 December 1860, he was son ...
, a mildly successful novelist who oversaw the publication's editing from 1896 to 1902. Though inexperienced, Wilkins was acquainted with society, being a friend of such figures as the explorer
Richard Francis Burton Captain (British Army and Royal Marines), Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG, Royal Geographical Society#Fellowship, FRGS, (19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, army officer, orien ...
and his wife
Isabel Burton Isabel Burton (née Arundell; 20 March 1831 – 22 March 1896), later known as Lady Burton, was an English writer, explorer and adventurer. She was the wife and partner of the explorer, adventurer, and writer Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821– ...
. After Wilkins' death in 1905, ''The Lady's Realm'' wrote of how "the general public are little aware how much of
he magazine's He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
early success" was due to him, and that "not a few ontributors whohave since made their names in the world of letters have to thank him for placing their foot on the first rung of the ladder". Wilkins' successor as editor is unknown, though Margaret Versteeg and colleagues, who produced an index of the fiction published in ''The Lady's Realm'', detect no changes in editorial judgement in the magazine's tenure after 1902. While the publication mainly featured female writers and feminine topics, all of its editors, most likely, were men. When it debuted, there were more than twenty-nine publications catering to women. Upon the publication of its first issue in 1896, ''
Review of Reviews The ''Review of Reviews'' was a noted family of monthly journals founded in 1890–1893 by British reform journalist William Thomas Stead (1849–1912). Established across three continents in London (1891), New York (1892) and Melbourne (1893), ...
'' called it "one of the most popular of the magazines that have been started this year". The illustrated magazine was produced monthly and cost sixpence (cheap enough for middle-class readers). A typical issue contained 120 pages on quality glossy paper. It sold reasonably well in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. The magazine was available in women's reading rooms in public libraries, locations that were well distributed across the United Kingdom. The magazine was produced by the English printers Hazell, Watson and Viney. One of its owners, Walter Hazell, was a social reformer and supporter of
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
. A successful firm, Hazell, Watson and Viney also produced the '' Woman's Signal'' and the '' Woman's Gazette'', which featured female political and economic topics. The success of ''The Lady's Realm'' allowed it to remain published for eighteen years, from 1896 to 1915, much longer than many other contemporary women's periodicals. Thirty-six volumes were produced, from November 1896 to October 1914 (a final volume may have been released in 1915). It is not known why it ended, though Versteeg and her colleagues speculate that World War I may have been a cause, as was the case for other contemporary publications like '' Young Woman'' (1891–1914) and '' The Girl's Realm'' (1892–1915).


Content

The magazine focused on an upmarket audience, targeting "aspirational middle-class and upper-class readers". It was also one of the first intended to appeal to the female homeowner. ''The Lady's Realm'' featured poems, engravings and photographs, as well as columns by popular authors like
Marie Corelli Mary Mackay (1 May 185521 April 1924), also called Minnie Mackey and known by her pseudonym Marie Corelli (, also , ), was an English novelist. From the appearance of her first novel '' A Romance of Two Worlds'' in 1886, she became a bestselli ...
,
Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1886), ''A Little Princess'' (1905), a ...
, Violet Fane, and
Mary Elizabeth Braddon Mary Elizabeth Braddon (4 October 1835 – 4 February 1915) was an English popular Novelists, novelist of the Victorian era. She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel ''Lady Audley's Secret'', which has also been dramatised and filmed seve ...
. Other authors included
Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...
,
H.G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
, and
Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman (October 31, 1852 – March 13, 1930) was an American author. Biography Freeman was born in Randolph, Massachusetts on October 31, 1852, to Eleanor Lothrop and Warren Edward Wilkins, who originally baptized her " ...
. Fiction, in the form of short stories and serialisations, was released during the magazine's entire span and took up a sizable proportion in issues. A slightly higher percentage of these contributions were written by women. The type of fiction varied, from romances and domestic narratives to fantasies and sociopolitical stories. The publication's targeted reader was the "
New Woman The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century and had a profound influence well into the 20th century. In 1894, writer Sarah Grand (1854–1943) used the term "new woman" in an influential article to refer to indepe ...
", with enlightened ideas on education, health, independence, and employment. Victorian scholar Kathryn Ledbetter notes that ''The Lady's Realm'' was "a handbook to the New Woman then being successfully marketed in popular novels... it provides many examples of this ideal in essays, illustrations, fiction, and poetry through the late 1890s". ''Lady's Realm'' printed an assortment of Court and society news alongside articles on more daily tasks such as food, homemaking, and methods for female readers to earn money. It covered the London
Season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...
, displaying photographs of significant society figures and débutantes. It claimed to feature over 500 illustrations in each volume. Theatre was another regular topic of the magazine, as was fiction, poetry, and reports on fashion. ''The Lady's Realm''s fashion editor Marian Pritchard regularly wrote articles on emerging fashions in London and Paris, and recommended locations where readers could buy them. While still featuring fashion and beauty, it also encouraged careers for women in music, art, business, and
millinery Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners made and sold a range of accessories for clothing and hairstyles. ...
. The magazine maintained this blend of topics relatively consistently, though it gradually made minor changes to the proportion it focused on different topics, for instance later focusing less on the nobility and more on the lives of clergymen and
governors general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
. ''The Lady's Realm'' was a source of
celebrity journalism A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially in a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are written in a light, informal style, and relate opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities fr ...
. Ledbetter writes that the magazine inherited its "notions of feminine celebrity" from ''
The Woman's World ''The Woman's World'' was a Victorian women's magazine published by Orion Publishing Group, Cassell between 1886 and 1890, edited by Oscar Wilde between 1887 and 1889, and by Ella Hepworth Dixon from 1888.. Foundation In the late nineteenth ce ...
'', an earlier publication edited by
Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...
. It published studio photographs of actresses as well as aristocrats, including many in the former group who married into the nobility. The
British Royal Family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...
was a frequent subject; one of the magazine's first issues included an article and photographs about the
Princess of Wales Princess of Wales (; ) is a title used since the 14th century by the wife of the Prince of Wales. The Princess is the apparent future queen consort, as "Prince of Wales" is a title reserved by custom for the heir apparent to the Monarchy of the ...
' childhood, and the publication regularly reported on the movements of
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
's family.


References


Works cited

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lady's Realm, The 1896 establishments in the United Kingdom 1915 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Defunct women's magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1896 Magazines disestablished in 1915