British children's magazine
Young FolksFormer editors | |
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Founder | James Henderson |
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Founded | 1871 |
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First issue | 1 January 1871 (1871-01-01) |
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Final issue | 29 April 1897; 127 years ago (1897-04-29) |
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Country | United Kingdom |
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Language | English |
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Young Folks was a weekly children's literary magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1871 and 1897. Its publishing office was initially in Manchester, then relocated to London in 1873.[1] It is most notable for having first published a number of novels by Robert Louis Stevenson in serial form, including Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Black Arrow.
It enjoyed a wide demographic appeal, as the test of time as shown, unique compared to contemporary publications. First sold for one half-penny with eight pages, the price was increased to one penny in 1873 and the page count increased to sixteen. Its motto was To Inform, To Instruct, To Amuse.[2]
Young Folks went under a number of different names in its 26-year history:
- Our Young Folks' Weekly Budget (1 January 1871 – 28 June 1879) (447 editions)
- as Young Folks' Weekly Budget (1876–1879)[2]
- as Young Folks' Budget (1879)[2]
- Young Folks (5 July 1879 – 20 December 1884) (326 editions)
- Young Folks' Paper (27 December 1884 – 28 June 1891)
- Old and Young (4 July 1891 – 11 September 1896)
- Folks at Home (18 September 1896 – 29 April 1897)
The proprietor and sometimes editor of the magazine was James Henderson. Young Folks serialised Treasure Island in Volumes 19 and 20 from 1 October 1881 to 28 January 1882.[3] It ran under the title Treasure Island; or, the mutiny of the Hispaniola and under the pseudonym Captain George North. It made little difference to the sales of the magazine.[3] Robert Leighton recalled that: "The boy readers did not like the story. As a serial it was a failure. Boys like a story to plunge at once into the active excitement . . ."[4]
The Black Arrow—published under the same pseudonym—was serialised between 30 June and 30 October 1883. As a serial it was, unlike Treasure Island, a huge success.[1] Kidnapped was serialised in the magazine from May to July 1886.
Editors
Other editors were Clinton Leighton and Richard Quittenton[2] (22 November 1833 – 23 January 1914) who wrote under the pseudonym Roland Quiz and worked on the magazine for 42 years.[6]
Artists
John Proctor (AKA 'Puck') was a regular contributor in the 1870s.
References
Further reading
- Frederick Wilse Bateson, The Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature (Cambridge University Press, 1966).