{{short description|British magazine editor}}{{Infobox person | name = Barbara Boxall | other_names = Barbie | birth_date = {{Birth date|1932|08|14|df=yes}} | birth_place = Feltham, West London, England | death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|03|14|1932|08|14|df=yes}} | death_place = Tenerife, Spain | occupation = Magazine editor and writer | known_for = Editor of Woman magazine, 1964–1975 }}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}} '''Barbara Boxall''' (née '''Buss'''; 14 August 1932 – 14 March 2017<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thetimes-uk/obituary.aspx?pid=184641899 |title=Barbara BOXALL Obituary - London Bridge, City of London | The Times |website=Legacy.com |date=23 March 2017 |accessdate=8 April 2017}}</ref>) was a British magazine editor and writer who spent several decades contributing to women's magazines. She served as the editor of ''Woman'' magazine from 1964 to 1975 when the weekly was transitioning from covering mainly fashion, cooking, and homemaking to a wider range of issues of interest to women such as domestic violence and sex advice.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/barbara-boxall-rhpzj0jpv |title=Obituary – Barbara Boxall |newspaper=The Times |date=6 April 2017 |access-date=8 April 2017}}</ref><ref name="mayhew">{{cite web |last=Mayhew |first=Freddy |date=22 March 2017 |title=Former Woman magazine editor Barbara Boxall dies aged 84 –'Barbie was God, a very big deal' |url=http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/former-woman-magazine-editor-barbara-boxall-dies-aged-84-barbie-was-god-a-very-big-deal/ |accessdate=3 December 2024 |newspaper=Press Gazette}}</ref> During her tenure, ''Woman'' magazine was considered "the biggest-selling women's magazine in the UK."<ref name="mayhew" />
== Career == In 1952, Boxall began working as a secretary at ''Good Taste'' magazine, later becoming a writer at the publication.<ref name="mayhew" /> She then worked in editorial roles at a series of different women's magazines: In 1956 she landed at ''Woman & Beauty'', in 1957 she moved to ''Woman'', in 1959 she arrived at ''Woman's Illustrated'', and in 1961 she worked at ''Woman's Realm''.<ref name="mayhew" />
In 1964, Boxall returned to ''Woman'' to become its editor, leading a staff of about 120 people.<ref name="mayhew" /> At the time, ''Woman'' had a weekly circulation of 4 million.<ref name="mayhew" /> The magazine, under Boxall's direction, explored both lighter subjects (such as knitting and infant care) and more complex topics (including women's liberation and abortion).<ref name=":0" /> Readers frequently turned to the magazine and its editors for advice, submitting 1,000 letters a day and reaching out regularly by phone.<ref name=":0" /> When Boxall left ''Woman'' in 1975, the publication was facing growing competition from other women's magazines, such as ''Cosmopolitan''.<ref name=":0" />
During her career, Boxall also served as fiction editor of the monthly ''Woman's World'' magazine, developing the work of writers such as Frances Fyfield (author of the Helen West series of crime novels), and as cookery editor of a sex magazine called ''Personal''.<ref name="mayhew" />
== Personal life == Barbara Buss was born in Feltham, West London, England, and attended London's Lady Margaret School.<ref name=":0" /> She was married to Lewis Boxall, a one-time press officer at an oil company who died in 1983.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="mayhew" /> Her friends called her "Barbie."<ref name=":0" />
== Death == Boxall died on 14 March 2017, while holidaying in Tenerife, Spain.
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boxall, Barbara}} Category:1932 births Category:2017 deaths Category:English magazine editors Category:English women magazine editors Category:British magazine writers Category:People from Feltham Category:People educated at Lady Margaret School Category:Writers from the London Borough of Hounslow
{{editor-stub}}