The Journal was established in 1858 by Barbara Bodichon, Matilda Mary Hays and Bessie Rayner Parkes,[REF][REF] with others, Bodichon being the major shareholder[REF] and Samuel Courtauld also held shares [REF].
It was "an important publication in social and feminist history", according to Jim Mussell of the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition [REF].