Belgravia (Magazine)

Belgravia, or Belgravia: A London Magazine, was an illustrated literary magazine published during the late 19th century. It was founded in 1866 by the novelist and short story writer Mary Elizabeth Braddon, who also edited the magazine.

Issues of Belgravia magazine were published monthly, and typically featured a mix of poems, short stories, serialized novels, travel narratives, biographies, and articles. However, it was best known as a publisher of sensation stories. This is not surprising because Braddon favored this type of fiction. Her most successful novel, Lady Audley’s Secret (1862), was a work of this type.

In 1876, the publishing company Chatto & Windus purchased Belgravia, and Andrew Chatto took over the role of editor. Under his direction, the magazine’s title was changed to Belgravia: An Illustrated London Magazine. This name remained constant until 1888, when it reverted to the original, slightly shorter title.

After he took over the magazine, Chatto also made some drastic changes in content. Moving away from sensation fiction, he began publishing the work of authors such as Thomas Hardy, Mark Twain, and Arthur Conan Doyle. This proved to be a disastrous move. In 1868, with Braddon still at the helm, Belgravia‘s circulation had reached 18,000. When she sold the magazine, it was 15,000. A year later, Belgravia‘s circulation plummeted to 3,000. Nevertheless, Chatto & Windus continued publishing Belgravia for a further two decades, with the final issue being published in June 1899.

During it’s years of publication, Belgravia magazine published a good deal of speculative fiction, and, in the early days, Braddon used it publish several of her own ghost stories including “Eveline’s Visitant” (January 1867) and “At Chrighton Abbey” (May 1871). Although he obviously did not favor sensation stories, Chatto was happy to publish good ghost stories. Examples include Algernon Blackwood’s “A Mysterious House” (July 1889) and Wilkie Collins’ The Haunted Hotel, which he published in June to November 1878 issues of the magazine.

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