Serialization became a literary staple in Victorian England (1837-1901) after Charles Dickens began publishing his serialized novels, starting with The Pickwick Papers in 1836-37. The practice involved publishing a few chapters of a novel at a time in inexpensive periodicals on a weekly or monthly basis. Many of the 19th century’s most renowned writers published in this format, including William Makepeace Thackeray, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Wilkie Collins, Anthony Trollope, and George Eliot. The phenomenon was not limited to England; in America, Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin in serial format. After serialization, a work was typically published as a single volume or in a three-volume set.

From a literary perspective, the format had both strengths and drawbacks. It gave readers inexpensive access to literature and, as a result, an opportunity to discuss a book with a wide audience. It also allowed a writer to address current events and readers’ responses in a portion of the text, adding to the work’s relevance. At the same time, the writer needed to fit the pacing and action in a portion of the work to its format, often requiring a

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now