Category:The Strand Magazine

Title: The Strand Magazine

Editor: Herbert Greenhough Smith

Publisher: London: George Newnes

The Strand Magazine was an illustrated monthly periodical, founded in 1890 by George Newness and edited by Herbert Greenhough Smith. One of the most popular magazines of its time, the Strand ran from the late Victorian period and lasted well past World War I. From 1891 to 1930 it circulated faithfully throughout London and continued until financial difficulties, brought on by war and depression, forced its publishers to completely abandon it by 1950.

The Strand Magazine contained fictional short stories and articles aimed at all the family members of a middle-class household. It was referred to as a sixpence magazine worth a shilling (a shilling was worth much more than a sixpence) and for good reason, since its creators went to great expense to give it additional features that added to its popularity. When the magazine was founded, illustration was still a new and costly concept, but the Strand had an illustration on nearly every page. Many of these illustrations accompanied serials, episodes of the same story published bit by bit in each issue. The interest created by a continuing story ensured that the public continued to purchase the monthly additions. The well known Sherlock Holmes Adventures had its start in the Strand and the author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, contributed to the magazine until 1927. His efforts contributed both to his own popularity and to the magazine's. Eventually the journal drew the contributions of Queen Victoria, Rudyard Kipling, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, and H. G. Wells, along with many other famous authors. The Strand was unique in its time, not only for its household appeal, but also for its quality and unusual popularity.^[1]

Notes

1. ↑ Chris Willis, "The Story of the Strand," Strand Magazine, December 1998: n. pag., Web, 18 February 2010.

Submitted by: Black, Leslie: section 1, Winter 2010