About The Young Folks Periodical

Young Folks magazine has a wonderful and fascinating history dating back to the 19th century. The magazine was first published in 1865 and was marketed as a children’s magazine. It quickly gained success and rose to the top, becoming the most popular children’s magazine in Britain, likely because it was one of the only available children’s magazines that was aimed directly at a young audience in Britain at the time. It offered a wide range of adventure stories, fairy tales, and educational articles.

What made Young Folks stand out from its competitors was its modern approach to storytelling and its constant commitment to delivering only the best and high-quality content for children and other readers. All throughout the second half of the 19th century, the magazine continued to grow in popularity, eventually becoming one of the most widely read and recognized children’s magazines in the country.

One of the major keys to the magazine’s success was the group of very talented contributors who provided a lot of unique content for the magazine. These included some of the most prominent and well-known writers and illustrators of the day, such as Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote several adventure stories for the magazine, and William Boucher, who illustrated many of the Stevenson's Kidnapped chapters.

As the 19th century came to an end, Young Folks continued to thrive and maintained its popularity among young and old readers all through Britain. Its influence can still be felt today, as many of today’s children’s books and magazines took inspiration and were influenced by the Young Folks magazine and what they were able to accomplish. Below is a timeline that shows the progression of the magazine through the end of the 19th century.