women's magazines in 1950s

[Mossleybrow]

I am looking at the 1950s for a course I am reaching on women in C20th. What magazines did your mother or grandmother read in the 1950s: Woman's Own, Woman, Woman's Realm ..or something else?

My mother would occasionally buy The Lady and was much mocked by me and my brother.

a bit later, but in the 1960s my mum read Woman's Weekly, passed to her by another woman, I read it when I was 10+ I suppose - out of boredom, I had read all the books in our small village library and all the books in the house. It had chaste romantic fiction, some of which was serialised. Knitting patterns. Recipes, I suppose although no one bothered with those, we had the Bee-Ro book for baking and no one needed a recipe to cook chops/shepherds pie/hotpot. There was a problem page by I think Mary Marryat ? Which always intrigued me as both the problems and the advice given were often cloaked in euphemisms I couldn't fathom. There were sometimes answers to questions sent in but not printed which was even more intriguing. They said things like, Dear Anxious Wife, what you describe is certainly not normal. An understanding doctor may be able to help you and your husband.

I suspect this magazine was not much changed from the 50s as it was passed to us by a much older woman, and it struck me as old fashioned at the time.

There was a problem page by I think Mary Marryat ?

Mary Marryat Advises.

DM had quite a collection of paperbacks of the serialised romantic fiction which I happily worked through interspersed with my older brothers' extensive set of Alistair McCleans for balance.

Grandma read She, Picture Post, Woman, Woman's Realm and Good Housekeeping, and anything with film star gossip. She would also buy the odd magazine with a knitting or sewing pattern she fancied. In the 60s she added Nova to the pile.

If it's any help, Great Nan read Grandma's cast offs , Peoples Friend and Woman's Weekly.

Mother read most of Grandma's magazines, then added Ideal homes and Homes and Gardens in the 60s.

My mother was never a magazine reader but my grandmother and aunt were and read woman, Woman’s Own and Woman’s Weekly. I know that my grandmother wrote letters to the magazines, usually with tips and had a few published. They were both great knitters too.
My Dad’s sister was more modern, a career woman and was a ‘She’ reader. When she died in 1977 I inherited a pile of back copies which I read avidly.

My mother, born in the 1930s, read Woman's Own and her mother read Woman's Weekly.

Just remembered Nursery World, if that counts. We had that in the 1950s.

Woman's Weekly and Burda