The People's Friend Special Magazine

28 July 2021

The People's Friend Special - Issue 212 - Fantastic fiction and features, with 14 uplifting short stories, Lorna Cowan reviews the life and legacy of Sir Walter Scott, Janey Swanson speaks to the charity helping homeless people to restart their lives, Pat Coulter scents out Britain’s lovely lavender farms, plus recipes, nature, travel, fabulous fiction, crafts, and lots more. --- Back in 1869, when the recently widowed Victoria was on the throne and Gladstone was Prime Minister, when Alexander Graham Bell was yet to make the first telephone call and Darwin's "Origin Of Species" had been published just ten years earlier, a brand-new magazine - "The People's Friend" - hit the shelves for the very first time. This is The People's Friend Special. Right from the start, the "Friend's" mission statement was clear: "We intend that fully one half of the 'Friend' shall be devoted to fiction... the 'Friend' being intended for fireside reading, nothing will be admitted into its columns having the slightest tendency to corrupt the morals either of old or young." As the years passed, the "Friend" grew and thrived. Through massive social upheaval, wars, strikes, financial crashes and natural disasters, the magazine continued, dispensing entertainment, instruction, comfort and good cheer to its readers. It became a constant in readers' lives; a true friend to turn to in times of trouble.