monoceros blogsThree days ago I received a letter from Hearst Magazines stating that the magazine that I have been subscribing to has ceased publication. Victoria magazine's June issue was its last. Now, although this kind of news isn't as mortifying as say, a refusal of a student visa or a job rejection letter, it did stun me for a few moments.
In the late summer of 1997, my family and I were on a road trip in New England, a sort of holiday just before I was to begin my first semester at university. I can't recall which state we were in but I remember well the meandering roads and the darkening skies as we hunted for a place to stay for the night in the countryside. After driving for some two panicky hours, we chanced upon an old but inviting victorian inn. Very quaint and very what-are-you-waiting-for-come-inside. We slept well and after a hearty breakfast we sat in the large waiting area (I can't remember if we were waiting for anything, perhaps for our stomachs to digest our breakfast) and my father passed me a magazine, saying, "Here, I think you might like this." It was a thin, rather tattered copy of Victoria with splendid photos and wonderful prose. The magazine featured warm, lovely living rooms and gardens, interesting book reviews and a good article on the beauty of lilies-of-the-valley.
I sent in my subscription form as soon as I started school in Ann Arbor and have been reading the magazine for some six years now. When I returned to Singapore after my stint in Italy, I continued my subscription and even got Lin Kiat's sister hooked on the magazine. Victoria wasn't really Martha Stewart or House Beautiful. There was something unique in the mix of articles - books, beauty, gardening, cooking, starting your own lifestyle shop, artists, poetry, travel - that made readers feel at home and also as if they were being sent off to a cafe in Paris or rural Tuscany where they were to pick mushrooms.
I'm a little disappointed that I won't be able to go back to graduate school and renew my subscription for the magazine at my new address. I am glad that I've kept every issue since November 1997. One May issue, in particular, had an article that gave my dress-maker a strong idea of how the embroidery on my wedding dress should look.
Another writer reports the end of Victoria. Read her article here.
Posted by Monoceros at July 4, 2003 11:55 PMHey. 'Sneaked some time in to read your blog (I really hate moving house). I too had the unfortunate experience of having a favourite magazine cease publication. I've got almost every issue of Cre@te Online, a UK-based new media publication chock full of inspirational works, industry news and tips. However after the dotcom bubble burst, subscriptions plumetted. They're now sending me another internet magazine by the same publisher but all the same, I'm disappointed, and I'll probably cancel my subscription. Sigh. Some things are just too good to last :-(
Posted by: Vanessa Tan at July 6, 2003 4:55 PMFirst of all, I am more than disappointed about the cessation of Victoria magazine. As a long-time subscriber, I would appreciate knowing your reasons for ending such a delightful periodical. I assume that the answer is lack of interest, reduction in sales, etc. I had hoped that a magazine of such caliber would be around for my five-month old granddaughter to enjoy in eighteen years. Victoria was cultured, but not stiff. It was filled with things refined and I suppose much of the world does not care for refinement and beauty. Your words and offerings, decor and fashions left me feeling refreshed and clean. Your magazine was decent and kind, among hoardes of indecent choices. I am sad that I will not be able to relish the pages of Victoria in the future. But I am glad that I saved every issue. Thank you for an extremely uplifting magazine. Janet Brice Parker
Posted by: Janet Parker at August 4, 2003 11:31 AMI have been searching for a copy of the most recent Victoria magazine for two months. I assumed that the magazine ceased publication, but was hoping that was not the case. I don't understand...the magazine has over 960,000 subs.
I am so disappointed.
So WHY did Victoria Magazine, the best of its kind on the market, cease publication? Friends in Britain have asked me to find out but so far nobody seems to know.
Posted by: Madeline Ahad at November 3, 2003 8:51 PMHow old is this post?
Posted by: Marie at April 13, 2004 8:48 AM