The public are invited to a free event that will examine the history of the Lady’s Magazine, regarded as one of the first modern women’s magazines.
The talk will take place on Wednesday 27 March from 18.00 in Grimond Lecture Theatre 1 and be given by Professor Jennie Batchelor from the School of English as her inaugural lecture.
The Lady’s Magazine was launched in 1770 subtitled, Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex, and presented its readers with a panoramic view of the world, literature and the arts and sciences.
Content ranged from fiction and poetry to essays on history, science, politics and travel. There were also advice columns, biographies, puzzles, as well as embroidery patterns and song sheets.
The magazine also launched the literary careers of writers such as George Crabbe and Mary Russell Mitford and provided publication opportunities for hundreds of amateur writers who filled its pages and reached readerships of which Jane Austen could only have dreamt.
Professor Batchelor said: ‘The Lady’s Magazine was ahead of its time in terms of its content and its readership. The talk will shed light on its origins and the popularity of the magazine and how it can be seen as one of the first recognisably modern women’s magazines with a legacy that lasts to the present day.’
The talk, A window on the world: the phenomenon of the Lady’s Magazine (1770-1832), is free to attend and anyone interested in attending is asked to register online via Eventbrite. There is free parking on the Canterbury campus from 17.00.