The Woman's World
The Woman's World was a Victorian women's magazine published by Cassell between 1886 and 1890, edited by Oscar Wilde between 1887 and 1889, and by Ella Hepworth Dixon from 1888.[citation needed].
Foundation
In the late nineteenth century, the market for periodicals was growing, and interest from women, who had always been the larger part of the market for fiction, increasing. Cassell and Co. launched a new magazine, The Lady's World in October 1886, intended to appeal to an aspirant middle-class audience of lady readers.
Wilde's editorship
Wilde persuaded the publisher to change the title to The Woman's World,[3] the change of description indicated it positioned itself towards an emerging class of educated women reflecting their changing place in society: Wilde designed it as "the first social magazine for women".[4] Stephen Calloway and David Colvin characterized the change as one which eliminated connotations of "bas-bourgeois snobbery and reflected his advanced views on female emancipation".[5] The titular change was part of a wider strategy of focusing more on what women "think and feel" and not exclusively on what they wear.[4]
Serious articles about women in education and politics accompanied style and society notes, short fiction and poetry and biographical pieces on famous, usually aristocratic, women. The Woman's World addressed an élite but expanding readership of middle and upper class educated women with literary and social credentials.[6]
Wilde managed to entice contributions from well-known writers and distinguished figures including,
Wilde wrote a column of literary notes and responses to readers. At one point he had to defend himself against early animal rights activists who objected his promotion of the "wearing of dead animals" in his fashion notes.[7]
Wilde soon tired of his editorial work and often failed to turn up for work or attend meetings with the publishers. As a result, he was dropped as editor, but the magazine was unable to continue without him.
Bibliography
Clayworth, A. (1997) "The Woman's World: Oscar Wilde as Editor" Victorian Periodicals Review, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Summer, 1997), pp. 84–101. Johns Hopkins University Press on behalf of the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals
References
- ^ (Clayworth, 1997:85)
- ^ Clayworth (1997:88)
- ISBN 9780715650318.
- ^ a b Clayworth (1997:89)
- ^ a b Stephen Calloway & David Colvin, Oscar Wilde: An Exquisite Life, Orian, 1997, p 53-54.
- JSTOR 20082978.
- ^ Shelagh Wilson, "Monsters and monstrosities: grotesque taste and Victorian design", in Trodd et al. (eds.), Victorian Culture and the Idea of the Grotesque, Ashgate, 1999, p. 220
External links
Media related to The Woman's World at Wikimedia Commons
- Wilde, Oscar (1887). The Woman's World, 1897–1890. Vol. 3 vols. London: Cassell & Co. pp. 3 v.