The Lady Magazine

15 May 2015

Dear Readers, Napoleon once described us as a nation of shopkeepers. Perhaps more accurately, however, we are a nation of murder lovers. I don’t mean in a criminal way; there’s just little we Brits enjoy more than a comfy chair, a nice cup of tea – and a good old grisly murder mystery (preferably fictional, of course). But while ghastly goings-on now fill our television schedules and bestseller lists, our fascination with murder is nothing new. Indeed, as author and historian Miranda Carter explains on page 16, it was actually the Victorians who got the nation hooked on dastardly deeds. And to think they pretended to be such a respectable lot. We also have Michelle Mackintosh on her battle against the cult of email – and the joys of putting real pen to real paper; Ruthie Markus on how she transformed the tragic death of her son into a positive legacy that would change her life for ever, and, as summer approaches, our essential guide to the English social season. There’s also Paul McCartney’s daughter, Mary, on the pleasures of being veggie; Sarah Langton-Lockton’s insider preview of the approaching RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and if you’re in need of a new handbag, we offer a suggestion for every day of the month (well, 30 of them anyway). Enjoy. Matt Warren, Editor