Like thousands of other women, I loved this magazine in the late 1980s and into the 90s. I saved every issue, but when Nancy Lindemeyer was replaced by Peggy Kennedy, the book lost its luster, as well as its layers. For one thing, it started looking like Martha Stewart Living and reading like (the late) Working Women. Still, I mourned its loss in 2003. Sadly, I had given away all my back issues in 2001 now I realize that was probably a reaction to the blandness of the Peggy Kennedy years. Four years later, I was delighted to hear Hoffman Publishing was bringing Victoria back. But sadly, that is not the case. Oh, a magazine called Victoria is published and on the surface, it looks like my complex and elegant old friend. But take a good long look and you will see this new incarnation lacks not only depth but beauty and character. With Nancy Lindemeyer's Victoria, the reader had the feeling the staff was mostly made up of bluestockings who happened to appreciate a lovely life filled with pretty things that held meaning. Now it's just pretty things. I'm not sure if we have changed so much that the charm of Victoria is now lost on us or if the staff is so shallow and inexperienced that the magazine is but a pale copy of the original. Grammatical errors abound, especially in the earlier Hoffman issues; the text is overly florid sometimes, and the photography lacks depth. The models in fashion layouts are vapid creatures. Something is horribly awry!Still, I give Hoffman credit for trying, and I have seen some improvements with each issue over the past two years. I let my subscription lapse, and I'll peruse the magazine at the drug store before I purchase it on a regular basis.
Addendum, December 2011: After a hiatus from reading Victoria, I was pleased to discover that the new version is now higher in editorial quality than it was a few years ago. I imagine the goal was to re-create the original but also incorporate some changes. I think the process is coming along nicely, and I want to be fair in my assessment of Victoria. She's an old friend made over, and I have not yet abandoned her!
After being out of circulation for years, I'm so thrilled that Victoria magazine is back! It was my late mother who first subscribed to Victoria and after reading one of the issues, I was hooked and fascinated. My ex-hubby was stunned the first time he saw my stack of old issues of Victoria and asked me, "Baby, why do you have to keep those old magazines?" He didn't understand the value and the delight it gives me whenever I read the back issues from time to time.
This is one magazine that I thoroughly enjoy reading from cover to cover for all its inspiring and interesting articles, outstanding photography, old-fashioned decorating ideas, travel, recipes and special features, and all the things about this publication. Kudos to Hoffman Media for bringing it back to its readers.
Welcome back, Victoria ... a magazine that is more than just a magazine, it's a classic, romantic and elegant reading material that is meant to be collected rather than thrown out after a few reads like most magazines.
If I were asked to choose only one magazine to take with me on a desert island, it has to be Victoria. If I have to read it over and over again, I would gladly do it. That's how interesting this magazine is.
Victoria adds beauty and grace to any coffee table. Wholeheartedly recommended.
P.S. Please don't leave your readers again!I am one of the people who agreed with the "Spoiled Princess's" review of Victoria's re-release. There is far less substance, far less magic in the 2008 Victoria magazines than in the ones of the 90's.
The twentieth century had its own Gilded Age in the 1980s and 1990s and Victoria Magazine perfectly reflected that, while at the same time holding a mirror to the Gilded Age of the 1880s and 1890s. It was the perfect marriage of past and present. Maybe Victoria is a true reflection of our times because it does feel to me that the times we live in now are less substantial in a few ways. All frosting and no cake syndrome...
I credit former editor Nancy Lindemeyer and photographer, Toshi Otsuki, among others of the old team for the Victoria I treasure. I guess that makes me a "spoiled princess" too. So, thank you to the old Victoria for spoiling me and for treating me with the high standards suited for a princess.
Read Best Reviews of Victoria Here
I was thrilled to find out this mag was back in circulation!! I immediately went to amazon to find it after having no luck in stores that used to carry it. I ordered and was so excited when I got my first issue....BIG DISAPPOINTMENT...it is nothing like it was in the "good ole days"....There are no articles on the history of the victorian era of why they did things they way they did. Example: Why they used colored stones instead of diamonds for engagement rings, what the colors and types of flowers mean in weddings etc...I have received two issues now and am still not happy, I am not renewing my subscription!! I recommend finding this at a store and looking inside BEFORE subscribing. Your local Sams Club has this mag.Yes, Victoria has undergone some major changes. It even disappeared for a few years, which broke many hearts.And, no, it's not quite the same as it was at its peak, but the fact is there's still no other magazine like it. Full of lush photos, interesting articles, and wonderful resources, Victoria is a beautiful, blissful escape from the everyday. I think the editors and writers are doing a really great job with trying to restore the magazine to its former glory.
I'm so glad I took the chance and re-subscribed. I had read mixed reviews of the "new" Victoria and was a little hesitant to splurge on a subscription when I hadn't seen any of the "new" issues. But I love it. Every new issue is a little vacation from the ordinary. Whenever it arrives I sneak off to the back porch swing for a few hours and lose myself in Victoria's pages.
Definitely worth a subscription.
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