Serializing Fiction in the Victorian Press

320 Pages·2000·1.054 MB·English

by  Graham Law (auth.)

Serializing Fiction in the
Victorian Press
Graham Law
Serializing Fiction in the Victorian Press
This page intentionally left blank
Serializing Fiction in
the Victorian Press
Graham Law
Waseda University
Tokyo
© Graham Law 2000
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2000 978-0-333-76019-2
All rights reserved.No reproduction,copy or transmission of
this publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced,copied or
transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with
the provisions of the Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988,
or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying
issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,90 Tottenham Court
Road,London W1P 0LP.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil
claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified
as the author of this work in accordance with the
Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2000 by
PALGRAVE
Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire RG21 6XS and
175 Fifth Avenue,New York,N.Y.10010
Companies and representatives throughout the world
PALGRAVEis the new global academic imprint of
St.Martin’s Press LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and
Palgrave Publishers Ltd (formerly Macmillan Press Ltd).
Outside North America
ISBN 978-1-349-41360-7 ISBN 978-0-230-28674-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230286740
In North America
ISBN 978-0-312-23574-1
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and
made from fully managed and sustained forest sources.
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Law,Graham.
Serializing fiction in the Victorian press / Graham Law.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-23574-1
1.Serialized fiction—Great Britain—History and criticism.2.English
fiction—19th century—History and criticism.3.Serial publication of
books—History—19th century.4.Authors and readers—Great Britain–
–History—19th century.5.Authors and publishers—Great Britain–
–History—19th century.6.Literature publishing—Great Britain–
–History—19th century.I.Title.
PR878.P78 L39 2000
823'.809—dc21
00–031124
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00
Dedicated to the Memory
of
My Father and Mother
*
Fred Law 1920–90
Anna Law, née Kean, 1925–97
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
List of Plates ix
List of Figures and Tables x
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xvii
List of Abbreviations xxi
Part I: Context 1
1 Serial Fiction 3
1.1 The eighteenth-century serial market 3
1.2 Transition and the book market 7
1.3 The Victorian serial market 13
1.4 International comparisons 35
Part II: Narrative 39
2 Before Tillotsons 41
2.1 North of the Border 44
2.2 South of the Border 51
2.3 Local rivalry 59
3 Tillotsons 64
3.1 Growth and cooperation 65
3.2 Outreach and competition 72
3.3 Retrenchment and decline 84
4 Rivals of Tillotsons 92
4.1 Direct competitors 93
4.2 A.P. Watt and the literary agency 100
4.3 W.C. Leng and Co. and the metropolitan weekly 114
Part III: Analysis 123
5 Readership 125
5.1 Circulations 127
5.2 Contents and communities 137
5.3 Atomization: Tillotsons and W.C. Leng and Co. 143
vii
viii Contents
6 Authorship 152
6.1 Making a Living 153
6.2 Agreements and agents 164
6.3 Professionalization: Collins and Braddon 170
7 Genre 181
7.1 Modes and settings 183
7.2 Composition and control 191
7.3 Commodification: Braddon and Besant 201
Appendix: Serialization Tables 215
Notes 245
Works Cited 270
Index 284
List of Plates
(for sources see Acknowledgements section)
1 John Leng
2 W.C. Leng
3 W.F. Tillotson
4 John Maxwell
5 David Pae
6 M.E. Braddon
7 Wilkie Collins
8 Walter Besant
9 Alnwick Mercury, 1 July 1856, tenth page
10 Dundee People’s Journal, 21 April 1866, second page
11 Leigh Journal and Times, 31 October 1890, second page
12 Leeds Mercury Weekly Supplement, 25 January 1890, front page
13 Dundee People’s Friend, 14 January 1889, front page
14 London Weekly Telegraph, 27 April 1889, front page
15 London Weekly Telegraph, 23 June 1900, front paper cover
16 New York World agreement with A.P. Watt, 11 February 1889
ix