My friend and former boss Laurie Purden, who has died aged 93, was the doyenne of the women’s magazine industry in the second half of the 20th century. She started out as a secretary at a publishing house and rose to become editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Journal and Woman & Home. Her aim during her long career was to bring pleasure to readers and expand their world – and her work earned her an MBE for services to women’s journalism.
Laurie was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, to George Purden, a stationery salesman, and Constance (nee Sheppard). Her mother was an artist whose sketches for fashion houses showed styles and trends (long before colour photography was used in publishing), and decorated the slipcases of the popular paper patterns designed for home dressmakers.
