Dickens+and+the+Serial+Novel


 * __HW Directions:__ Read the 2 paragraph "Victorian Serial Novels" below and then read the attached article on the PBS website entitled "Dickens and Serial Publication" (be sure to notice the photos of Dickens' original texts in their first publication). Answer one (only 1!) of the following questions on the discussion board in 7-10 sentences. Use examples or facts from the article to support your position.

1) How does the //materiality// (or the "physical nature") of a text effect the reading and transmission of this text? How did the short length, the paper construction of a magazine or newspaper, and the illustrations effect the way the book was read, passed around, and received?

2) How does the //method of publication// effect the writing or reading of a text? In other words, how does writing in installments and reading in sections effect the narrative and impact the story or plot? ||

=Victorian Serial Novels=
 * The serialization of literature began as early as the 17th century but it reached its zenith in Britain in the 19th century. Throughout the Victorian period, novels in serial parts were published in abundance in newspapers and magazines, by far the most popular form, or in discreet parts issued in installments, usually twenty monthly issues. Serial publication enabled middle class readers to purchase novels that would be too expensive for them to purchase as a single edition. Most monthly part issues sold for about one shilling, meaning the cost of a novel could be spread out over a year and a half. Magazines and newspapers were even more affordable and many offered two or more novels running concurrently. Illustrations were also an important feature of serial novels and Victorian artists, like John Everett Millais, were well known for their illustrations for serial fiction. Advertising also appeared in magazines and newspapers and in monthly part issues.

Serialization affected the form of the English novel. Each “chapter” had to engage the reader as a single unit as well as working within the context of the whole novel. Authors adopted various strategies to cope with tight deadlines and other challenges of the form, such as the requirement to produce parts of a uniform length. Some wrote the complete novel beforehand and submitted all the monthly parts together. Others let the novel evolve with each part. In such cases, the story could be interrupted or delayed by illness. It was also important not to introduce any element to the story that a Victorian audience might find offensive as many periodicals were aimed at a family audience. Part issues eventually fell out of favour as magazines became the preferred format and inexpensive one-volume reprints of original novels became available.

=Dickens and Serial Publication=

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/dickens/life_publication.html ||