On February 27, 1693, London’s Athenian Society launched The Ladies’ Mercury, the world’s first periodical in English specifically created for women readers. As a spin-off from The Athenian Mercury, it targeted "the fair sex" by answering questions on love, marriage, behavior, and domestic concerns.

Though it lasted only four weekly issues, The Ladies’ Mercury represented a pioneering shift: women were not passive literary consumers but active participants in public discourse. Readers submitted personal questions about courtship, morality, and societal norms and received considered replies that reflected their lived curiosity.

Despite its brief run ending on March 17, 1693, the publication left a lasting legacy. It opened a door for later influential titles like The Female Tatler and The Lady’s Magazine, foundational to what would become the modern concept of a women's magazine.

By centering women’s experiences even through advice columns on private and public life The Ladies’ Mercury challenged the belief that women had no place in print media. This early dialogue planted the seeds for feminist and women-focused periodicals over the centuries.