Category:The Girl's Own Paper

Title(s)

The Girl’s Own Paper (1880-1908)

Girl’s Own Paper and Woman’s Magazine (1908-1927)

Woman’s Magazine and Girl’s Own Paper (1928-1930)

The Girl’s Own Paper and Heiress (1931-1951)

The Heiress (1951-1956: 1965?)^[1]

Editor(s)

Charles Peters (1880-1907)

Flora Klickmann (1907+)^[2]

Overview

The Girl’s Own Paper (GOP) was a weekly periodical for women twelve to twenty-five which featured short fiction, advice on everything from cooking to keeping friends, biographies, sheet music, and later even fashion tips.^[3] Although originally published as a companion to The Boys’ Own Paper in 1880, the GOP “soon outstripped the boys' paper"^[4] with a circulation of 250,000 and ran for 28 years under editor Charles Peters who wanted “to foster and develop that which was highest and noblest in the girlhood and womanhood of England.”^[5] Flora Klickmann became editor upon his death in 1907 and took the magazine in a more adult direction by including more information about fashion, telling readers about serious careers like missionary service, and renaming the publication Girl’s Own Paper and Woman’s Magazine.^[6] The paper continued to influence young women (and their mothers) as the world entered war times even though it was renamed The Girl’s Own Paper and Heiress in 1931 and finally just The Heiress in 1951. These later magazines appealed to a younger readership with stories of movie stars and romantic kidnappings along with advice on preparing for war.^[7] The GOP finally closed down in 1956 after 76 years of publication and influence.

For Further Reading

"The Girl’s Own Paper.” Waterloo Directory of Victorian Periodicals.

Honor Ward, “Introduction,” Girl’s Own Guide, A&E Whitworth, 1992, UEA School of Mathematics, Web, 15 Oct. 2008

Notes

1. ↑ WD.
2. ↑ WD.
3. ↑ WD.
4. ↑ WD.
5. ↑ Honor Ward, “Introduction,” Girl’s Own Guide, A&E Whitworth, 1992, UEA School of Mathematics, Web, 15 Oct. 2008.
6. ↑ WD.
7. ↑ WF.

Submitted by: Ward, Jessica: section 1, Fall 2008