The Leisure Hour was a British general-interest periodical of the Victorian era published weekly from 1852 to 1905.[1][2] It was the most successful of several popular magazines published by the Religious Tract Society, which produced Christian literature for a wide audience.[1] Each issue mixed multiple genres of fiction and factual stories, historical and topical.[1]
The Leisure Hour
The cover of issue 1032, with an illustration accompanying a story about a shipwreck.
The magazine's title referred to campaigns that had decreased work hours, giving workers extra leisure time.[3] Until 1876, it carried the subtitle A Family Journal of Instruction and Recreation;[4] after that, the subtitle changed to An illustrated magazine for home reading.[5]
Each issue cost one penny and contained 16 pages.[6] The layout typically included approximately six long articles, formatted in two columns per page, and five or six illustrations. The articles were a mix of biographies, poetry, essays, and fiction. Each issue usually started with a piece of serialised fiction.[6]
The creation of the magazine was partly a response to non-religious popular magazines that the Religious Tract Society saw as delivering a "pernicious" morality to the working classes.[1] The ethos of the magazine was guided by Sabbatarianism: the campaign to keep Sunday as a day of rest.[4] It aimed to treat its diverse subjects "in the light of Christian truth".[4] Despite this, The Leisure Hour carried far fewer statements of Christian doctrine than the Society's other publications,[6] and had a greater emphasis on fiction than popular magazines of the time.[7]
Two days before the magazine's launch in 1852, a warehouse fire destroyed the first batch of The Leisure Hour, so replacement copies had to be printed.[3]
The magazine was edited by William Haig Miller until 1858,[5]James Macaulay from 1858 to 1895,[8] and William Stevens from 1895 to 1900.[5]Harold Copping was one of its illustrators.[9] Authors were initially only credited by initials rather than by name, giving the writing a collective rather than individual authority, though naming of authors became more common from the 1870s.[1] In its jubilee issue, published in 1902, the magazine identified 111 authors who had contributed.[1]
“A Vision of the Future. An aërial motor-car”, 1905
Referencesedit
^ abcdefLechner, Doris (2013). "Serializing the Past in and out of the Leisure Hour: Historical Culture and the Negotiation of Media Boundaries". Mémoires du livre. 4 (2). doi:10.7202/1016740ar.
^Dozier, Graham (25 September 2014). A Gunner in Lee's Army: The Civil War Letters of Thomas Henry Carter. University of North Carolina Press. p. 290. ISBN978-1-4696-1875-3.
^ abLouise Henson (2004). Culture and Science in the Nineteenth-century Media. Ashgate. pp. 75–77. ISBN978-0-7546-3574-1.
^ abcStephanie Olsen (16 January 2014). Juvenile Nation: Youth, Emotions and the Making of the Modern British Citizen, 1880-1914. A&C Black. p. 23. ISBN978-1-4725-1009-9.
^ abc"Noakes, Richard (2004). "The Boy's Own Paper and late-Victorian juvenile magazines". In Geoffrey Cantor (ed.). Science in the nineteenth-century periodical: reading the magazine of nature (1. publ. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN9780521836371. via Open Research Exeter http://hdl.handle.net/10036/31895
^Brian E. Maidment "Magazines of Popular Progress & the Artisans" Victorian Periodicals Review, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Fall, 1984), pp. 83-94. Johns Hopkins University Press on behalf of the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20082117 Accessed: 13 November 2015
^"Harold Copping". Spartacus Educational. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
Further readingedit
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
The Leisure Hour
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Leisure Hour.
Palmegiano, E. M. (15 October 2013). Perceptions of the Press in Nineteenth-Century British Periodicals: A Bibliography. Anthem Press. pp. 329–352. ISBN978-1-78308-053-3.
External linksedit
Scans of The Leisure Hour online at the Hathi Trust
April 13, 2024
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The Leisure Hour was a British general interest periodical of the Victorian era published weekly from 1852 to 1905 1 2 It was the most successful of several popular magazines published by the Religious Tract Society which produced Christian literature for a wide audience 1 Each issue mixed multiple genres of fiction and factual stories historical and topical 1 The Leisure HourThe cover of issue 1032 with an illustration accompanying a story about a shipwreck FrequencyWeeklyPublisherReligious Tract SocietyFirst issueJanuary 1 1852 1852 January 01 CountryUnited KingdomBased inLondonLanguageEnglishOCLC362165421The magazine s title referred to campaigns that had decreased work hours giving workers extra leisure time 3 Until 1876 it carried the subtitle A Family Journal of Instruction and Recreation 4 after that the subtitle changed to An illustrated magazine for home reading 5 Each issue cost one penny and contained 16 pages 6 The layout typically included approximately six long articles formatted in two columns per page and five or six illustrations The articles were a mix of biographies poetry essays and fiction Each issue usually started with a piece of serialised fiction 6 The creation of the magazine was partly a response to non religious popular magazines that the Religious Tract Society saw as delivering a pernicious morality to the working classes 1 The ethos of the magazine was guided by Sabbatarianism the campaign to keep Sunday as a day of rest 4 It aimed to treat its diverse subjects in the light of Christian truth 4 Despite this The Leisure Hour carried far fewer statements of Christian doctrine than the Society s other publications 6 and had a greater emphasis on fiction than popular magazines of the time 7 Two days before the magazine s launch in 1852 a warehouse fire destroyed the first batch of The Leisure Hour so replacement copies had to be printed 3 The magazine was edited by William Haig Miller until 1858 5 James Macaulay from 1858 to 1895 8 and William Stevens from 1895 to 1900 5 Harold Copping was one of its illustrators 9 Authors were initially only credited by initials rather than by name giving the writing a collective rather than individual authority though naming of authors became more common from the 1870s 1 In its jubilee issue published in 1902 the magazine identified 111 authors who had contributed 1 Contents 1 Notable contributors 2 Gallery of illustrations 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksNotable contributors editIsabella Bird John William Dawson Edwin Dunkin John Keast Lord Joseph Butterworth Owen Jules Verne Elizabeth Hely WalsheGallery of illustrations edit nbsp John Keble 1867 nbsp Mary Somerville 1871 nbsp Charles Dickens 1904 nbsp A Vision of the Future An aerial motor car 1905References edit a b c d e f Lechner Doris 2013 Serializing the Past in and out of the Leisure Hour Historical Culture and the Negotiation of Media Boundaries Memoires du livre 4 2 doi 10 7202 1016740ar Dozier Graham 25 September 2014 A Gunner in Lee s Army The Civil War Letters of Thomas Henry Carter University of North Carolina Press p 290 ISBN 978 1 4696 1875 3 a b Louise Henson 2004 Culture and Science in the Nineteenth century Media Ashgate pp 75 77 ISBN 978 0 7546 3574 1 a b c Stephanie Olsen 16 January 2014 Juvenile Nation Youth Emotions and the Making of the Modern British Citizen 1880 1914 A amp C Black p 23 ISBN 978 1 4725 1009 9 a b c Worldcat entry for The leisure hour a b c Noakes Richard 2004 The Boy s Own Paper and late Victorian juvenile magazines In Geoffrey Cantor ed Science in the nineteenth century periodical reading the magazine of nature 1 publ ed Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 9780521836371 via Open Research Exeter http hdl handle net 10036 31895 Brian E Maidment Magazines of Popular Progress amp the Artisans Victorian Periodicals Review Vol 17 No 3 Fall 1984 pp 83 94 Johns Hopkins University Press on behalf of the Research Society for Victorian Periodicals https www jstor org stable 20082117 Accessed 13 November 2015 Lee Sidney ed 1912 Macaulay James Dictionary of National Biography 2nd supplement Vol 2 London Smith Elder amp Co Harold Copping Spartacus Educational Retrieved 14 November 2015 Further reading edit nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article The Leisure Hour nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Leisure Hour Palmegiano E M 15 October 2013 Perceptions of the Press in Nineteenth Century British Periodicals A Bibliography Anthem Press pp 329 352 ISBN 978 1 78308 053 3 External links editScans of The Leisure Hour online at the Hathi Trust Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Leisure Hour amp oldid 1190046502, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
