‘North and South’ in Household Words, No. 241

4 November 1854

Storage Journal AP 4 H68 V.10

London: The Office

Many famous Victorian novels appeared in serial format. As readers eagerly awaited each instalment, authors could respond to public opinion, sometimes changing the fate of a character in a bid to increase sales. Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South, a serial of life in industrial Manchester, appeared over 20 weeks in Dickens’s Household Words from September 1854 to January 1855. Dickens and Gaskell frequently clashed over editorial matters, so much so that both swore never to work together again. However, Dickens realized Gaskell’s talent and popularity, and lured her back to serial publication with generous remuneration and promises of greater creative freedom.