'For many, especially the staff at the time, I was a surprise choice to edit Country Life,' writes Mark Hedges in the Country Mouse column in the October 22, 2025 issue of Country Life.
'A natural scientist, who didn’t know his Ionic from his Doric column, hadn’t been to Cambridge, hadn’t read Jane Austen and, worst of all, had lots of ideas as to how to change the magazine.
'My only real qualification was that I knew a lot about the countryside — I adored it. I was determined that, through the pages of this national treasure, more people could share my Arcadian joy.'
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The choice proved inspired: since Mark took the helm, Country Life has enjoyed unprecedented success, selling more copies than at any time in its almost 130-year history.
To mark his achievement, and some of the many anecdotes from along the way, today we look back at the podcast Mark recorded with James Fisher two years ago — the first we ever recorded for the show.
It's still the most popular podcast episode we've published, and despite one or two rough edges in the production (we were still learning the craft at the time) we know it's a hugely-enjoyable listen.
We're planning to get Mark back in the Country Life studio soon, and it's a perfect stopgap until then — as are the words of the rest of his Country Mouse column.
'During the course of overseeing the past 1,000 issues, there have been many battles between the management and me. I fought for two reasons: you, my readers, and my staff. I was ferocious and the magazine thrived,' Mark adds.
'I am immensely proud of Country Life. It has outperformed every other magazine during this period and we have had a lot of fun along the way. It is a very different magazine from my first issue, there have been Royal guest editors, Shakespeare scoops, television series and hidden ladybirds on the front cover.
'It is more eclectic than ever before. Editing it has been the greatest education of my life — I now know my columns and my Austen. It is the hugest honour to edit this pillar of Britain.'
Episode credits
Host: James Fisher
Guest: Mark Hedges
Editor and producer: Toby Keel
Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
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