Victoria January/February 2023

Dear Friends I remember so vividly discovering the premier issue of Victoria. It was like no other publication I had ever seen, and I was instantly captivated. The magazine debuted in 1987, promising “a return to loveliness” and ushering readers into a world of romance. Poring over its pages was akin to escaping into a dream of the best of what could be. Longtime readers will share my nostalgia that thirty-five years have passed since we fell in love with that first issue. It is one of the great honors of my life to stewardsuch a revered title, and I am joined on this path by creatives who appreciate all that Victoria represents. Our editor credits the magazine with shaping her ideals of gracious living when she set up housekeeping as a…

WRITERS-IN-RESIDENCE In their book The Lifegiving Home: Creating a Place of Belonging and Becoming, Sally and Sarah Clarkson note taking time through the years “to thumb through Victoria magazines over steaming cups of tea.” With a combined total of more than twenty-five books, including the aforementioned title that they penned together, these best-selling authors also connect with readers via their respective podcasts, personal blogs, and speaking engagements around the world. Sally and her husband divide their time between Colorado and Oxford, England, while Sarah resides in Oxford, where she and her family are restoring a historic vicarage. In a full-circle moment, this mother and daughter who used to steal away to pore over Victoria together will meet once again in our pages as they share inspiring essays on the pursuit and…

FUN FINDS * PLACES TO GO * ENTREPRENEURS TO MEET Visit our website to read this issue’s online stories and to find more of the content you love. We love your ideas! Do you have any suggestions about something you’d like to see in the magazine? If so, reach out to us at victoriamag.com/contact-us. Take a closer look at some of our favorite January/February features: Business of Bliss Meet our esteemed 2023 panel of Business of Bliss entrepreneurs—seven successful women who share their wisdom and guidance for turning passions into profits. New Year’s Inspiration Victoria Artist-in-Residence Jenny Bohannon begins her tenure with thoughtful winter encouragement for truly making your home “a place of beauty for those you love most.” When Teatime Beckons Believing that manners add to the enjoyment of social occasions, etiquette expert Lisa Richey offers tips for the…

As a young girl, I still remember my dear mother, smile on her face, curled up with Family Circle magazine in her lap. She was engrossed in an article titled “Butternut Wisdom,” written by Gladys Taber. At my age, it didn’t mean a thing to me. But as I grew up and began perusing used bookstores as a hobby, I came across books written by Mrs. Taber. I would snatch them up and present them to my mother on special occasions. After she passed, I gathered all the books I had given my mother and put them away in my bookshelf. Soon after, I realized I had no idea what her precious books were about. I slowly opened one of the volumes and began reading, and after the second or third…

When first I saw the vast English house that would become my home, I was overawed. An elegant redbrick Victorian vicarage in Oxford, tucked away next to a lake, with a rambling garden and an ancient willow. We toured the property as part of my husband’s interview for a job. The house came with the position, and I had come with an eye to scope the possibilities of family and creative life. What I found seemed, at first, a dream: a spacious historical home of high ceilings, sunlit walls, and fireplaces in each room, with windows shaped like those in an old gothic church and a “room with a view” for my own little study. To live in such a storied old place, I thought, what bliss. The second time I…

In the Quiet of Midwinter Across the icy threshold of this nascent season, a precious stillness awaits, offering time and inspiration for feathering one’s nest. Though she often describes herself as “an accidental social media influencer,” content creator Jenny Bohannon of website Tallwood Country House has parlayed her fresh, classically informed style into a platform to inspire others with both pictures and words. “I believe passionately that every woman has the potential to be a creative force in her own sphere and should feel equipped to be the stylist of her own home,” she says. With that empowering belief in mind, Jenny has bestowed her tenure as our Artist-in-Residence for 2023 with the theme “Year of the Every Woman.” As the calendar turns to a new page, the skies often take on a…