Category:The Ladies Companion at Home and Abroad
Title: The Ladies’ Companion at Home and Abroad
Editor: Mrs. Jane Loudon
Publisher: Bradbury & Evans, London
"But, now, as the fireside has more attractions than the garden, I shall only try to provide amusement for my readers, AT HOME, and I shall wait till spring before I attempt to take them ABROAD," stated editor Jane Loudon as she wrote for the first time to readers of The Ladies' Companion at Home and Abroad in December 1849. Loudon had previously been associated with natural history, particularly horticulture and botany,[1] but now wished to expand her influence to the sphere of women. The purpose of The Ladies' Companion was to provide mental cultivation for Victorian women and instruct them in their duties, whether married or unmarried. Loudon also wished to provide women with "subjects for serious thought, as well as for amusement." The journal provided Victorian women with weekly tips for dress and fashion, recipes, songs and poems by noted authors like Wordsworth, and a weekly social calendar. Two other weekly amusements were the Enigma section and the "What-Not" section. The Enigma section offered riddles in English, Spanish, French, and German with the answers appearing in the next week's issue. The 'What-Not" section listed random quotes by celebrated and non-celebrated figures of the day regarding various topics. Loudon's journal also offered gardening ideas and tips for inside and outside the home; reviews of adult and children's books; instruction for cooking; educational articles in science, voice and gardening; and short fiction stories pertaining to women, families, and governesses. Contributions to the journal came from such authors as Mary Cowden Clarke, Horace Mayhew, Prof. David Ansted, Julia Kavanagh and Tom Taylor, Esq.
The Ladies' Companion was devoted to the explication of "domestic tasks (needlework, embroidery, gardening), to culture (art, language, music) and to the mother's role as educator."[2]. It offered entertainment, education, and instruction for Victorian women on a weekly basis, to be a ladies' companion in "the fullest sense"--"in the drawing-room, in the study, in the dressing-room, in the housekeeper's room, and in the garden."
Notes
Submitted by: Webb, Lori: section 1, Fall 2007
Submitted by: Clegg, Jamie: section 1, Fall 2014
Articles in category "The Ladies Companion at Home and Abroad"
The following 14 pages are in this category, out of 14 total.
