"To the Ladies--" Louis A. Godey said in a toast. "It is my business and pleasure to please them, for to them--God bless the fairest portion of His creation--for to them I am indebted for my success." Inseparable from the popular culture of the nineteenth century, Godey's Lady's Book was published from 1830 to 1877. It was one of the most successful magazines of its era by most standards of achievement: it was the innovator in women's magazines, a financial success, one of the first periodicals to emphasize the value of American literature over English, the first to be edited largely by women, one of the first to offer relatively good payment for original stories, and a leader in the copyrighting of periodical literature. In sum it was the premier magazine of excellence for women.

The cultural impact of Godey's Lady's Book is best illustrated by the references made to...