''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst magazine division. It is one of the " Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publication after January 2019 and now operates exclusively online.

History

The magazine was first published in May 1903 as ''The Red Book Illustrated'' by Stumer, Rosenthal and Eckstein, a firm of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

retail merchants. The name was changed to ''The Red Book Magazine'' shortly thereafter. Its first editor, from 1903 to 1906, was Trumbull White, who wrote that the name was appropriate because, "Red is the color of cheerfulness, of brightness, of gaiety." In its early years, the magazine published short fiction by well-known authors, including many women writers, along with photographs of popular actresses and other women of note. Within two years the magazine had become a success, climbing to a circulation of 300,000. When White left to edit ''

Appleton's Magazine ''Appleton's Magazine'' was an American magazine about books and literature. Founded by Seymour Eaton in 1903 as ''The Booklovers Magazine'', it was purchased by D. Appleton & Company in 1904. Its name was changed to ''Appleton's Booklovers Mag ...

'', he was replaced by Karl Edwin Harriman, who edited ''The Red Book Magazine'' and its sister publications '' The Blue Book'' and '' The Green Book'' until 1912. Under Harriman the magazine was promoted as "the largest illustrated fiction magazine in the world" and increased its price from 10 cents to 15 cents. According to Endres and Lueck (p. 299), "''Red Book'' was trying to convey the message that it offered something for everyone, and, indeed, it did... There was short fiction by talented writers such as James Oliver Curwood,

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1930, he became the first author from the United States (and the first from the America ...

Edith Wharton Edith Newbold Wharton (; ; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American writer and designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray, realistically, the lives and morals of the Gil ...

and Hamlin Garland. Stories were about love, crime, mystery, politics, animals, adventure and history (especially

the Old West ''The Old West'' is a series of books about the history of the American Old West era, published by Time-Life Books from 1973 through 1980. Each book focused on a different topic specific for the era, such as cowboys, American Indians, gamblers ...

and the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

)." Harriman was succeeded by Ray Long. When Long went on to edit Hearst's ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

'' in January 1918, Harriman returned as editor, bringing such coups as a series of ''

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

'' stories by

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...

. During this period the cover price was raised to 25 cents. In 1927, Edwin Balmer, a short-story writer who had written for the magazine, took over as editor; in the summer of 1929 the magazine was bought by

McCall Corporation McCall Corporation was an American publishing company that produced some popular magazines. These included ''Redbook'' for women, ''Blue Book (magazine), Bluebook'' for men, ''McCall's'', the ''Saturday Review (US magazine), Saturday Review'', a ...

, which changed the name to ''Redbook'' but kept Balmer on as editor. He published stories by such writers as

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and ''Alice Adams (novel), Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to w ...

and F. Scott Fitzgerald, nonfiction by women such as

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

's mother and

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

, articles on the Wall Street Crash of 1929 by men like

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

and

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Cantor was one of the prominent entertainers of his era. Some of h ...

, as well as condensed novels, like

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett ( ; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the characters he created are Sam Spade ('' The Ma ...

's ''

The Thin Man ''The Thin Man'' (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of '' Redbook''. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main ...

'' (December 1933). Under Balmer, ''Redbook'' became a general-interest magazine for both men and women. On May 26, 1932, the publisher launched its own radio series, ''Redbook Magazine Radio Dramas'', syndicated dramatizations of stories from the magazine. Stories were selected by Balmer, who also served as the program's host. Circulation hit a million in 1937, and success continued until the late 1940s, when the rise of

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

began to drain readers and the magazine lost touch with its demographic. In 1948 it lost $400,000 (equivalent to $ million today), and the next year Balmer was replaced by Wade Hampton Nichols, who had edited various movie magazines. Phillips Wyman took over as publisher. Nichols decided to concentrate on "young adults" between 18 and 34 and turned the magazine around. By 1950 circulation reached two million, and the following year the cover price was raised to 35 cents. It published articles on racial prejudice, the dangers of nuclear weapons, and the damage caused by

McCarthyism McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a Fear mongering, campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage i ...

, among other topics. In 1954, ''Redbook'' received the Benjamin Franklin Award for public service. The next year, as the magazine was beginning to steer towards a female audience, Wyman died, and in 1958 Nichols left to edit ''

Good Housekeeping ''Good Housekeeping'' is an American lifestyle media brand that covers a wide range of topics from home decor and renovation, health, beauty and food, to entertainment, pets and gifts. The Good Housekeeping Institute which opened its "Experiment ...

''. The new editor was Robert Stein, who continued the focus on women and featured authors such as Dr. Benjamin Spock and

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist, author and speaker, who appeared frequently in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard Col ...

. In 1965 he was replaced by Sey Chassler, during whose 17-year tenure circulation increased to nearly five million and the magazine earned a number of awards, including two National Magazine Awards for fiction. His ''New York Times'' obituary says, "A strong advocate for women's rights, Mr. Chassler started an unusual effort in 1976 that led to the simultaneous publication of articles about the proposed equal rights amendment in 36 women's magazines. He did it again three years later with 33 magazines." He retired in 1981 and was replaced by Anne Mollegen Smith, the first woman editor, who had been with the magazine since 1967, serving as fiction editor and managing editor. Norton Simon Inc., which had purchased the

, sold Redbook to the

Charter Company The Charter Company of Jacksonville, Florida was a conglomerate with more than 180 subsidiaries that was in the ''Fortune'' 500 for 11 years beginning in 1974 and ranked 61st in 1984. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in late 1984, e ...

in 1975. In 1982, Charter sold the magazine to the

Hearst Corporation Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...

, and in April 1983 Smith was fired and replaced by Annette Capone, who "de-emphasized the traditional fiction, featured more celebrity covers, and gave a lot of coverage to exercise, fitness, and nutrition. The main focus was on the young woman who was balancing family, home, and career." (Endres and Lueck, p. 305) After Ellen Levine took over as editor in 1991, even less fiction was published, and the focus was on the young mother. Levine said, "We couldn't be the magazine we wanted to be with such a big audience, you have to lose your older readers. We did it the minute I walked in the door. It was part of the deal." Levine moved to ''

'' in 1994, being replaced by ''

McCall's ''McCall's'' was a monthly United States, American women's magazine, published by the McCall Corporation, that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. The publication ...

'' Kate White, who left for ''

'' four years later. Succeeding editors were Lesley Jane Seymour (1998-2001), Ellen Kunes (2001-2004), and Stacy Morrison (2004-2010). Redbook Magazine has ceased print publication as of its November/December 2018 issue ol. 231, No.4 Redbook's Customer Service page notes itself that Redbook magazine "is no longer being published". A column by Kelly Faircloth at Jezebel reports secondhand though an AdWeek October 10, 2018, article "that after January 2019, Redbook will become an 'online-only destination'."

Coverage

''Redbooks articles are primarily targeted towards married women. The magazine features stories about women dealing with modern hardships, aspiring for intellectual growth, and encouraging other women to work together for humanitarian causes. The magazine profiles successful women to provide inspirational testimonies and advice on life.

Condensed novels

. ''

'' (December 1933) * William Edmund Barrett '' The Left Hand of God'' (serialized, July–October 1950) * Judith Guest. ''

Ordinary People ''Ordinary People'' is a 1980 American Tragedy, tragedy film directed by Robert Redford in his List of directorial debuts, feature directorial debut. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the Ordinary People (Guest novel), 1976 novel by ...

'', 1976 * Janet Burroway: Raw Silk, Jan. 1976 *

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...

. ''

Song of Solomon The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, it is erotic poe ...

'' 1977

Writers

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...

* Janet Burroway * Gail Godwin * MacKinlay Kantor * Barbara Kingsolver * Caroline Leavitt *

Lois Lowry Lois Ann Lowry (; née Hammersberg; born March 20, 1937) is an American writer. She is the author of many books for children and young adults, including '' The Giver Quartet'', '' Number the Stars'', the Anastasia series, and '' Rabble Starkey''. ...

* Michael Shaara * Nancy Thayer * Katharine Weber

References

External links