Critical Response #1: All the Year Round & Household Words

While reading Charles Dickens’ periodicals, All the Year Round and Household Words, in the Rare Books Room of the Loras College Academic Resource Center, I noticed that the quiet, museum-like atmosphere made me feel as if I had stepped into a time-traveling machine. With leather-bound texts of many different shapes and sizes, and the musty smell of the flimsy and delicate pages of Household Words sweeping up my nose, I was submerged in the Victorian Era.  As I picked up the eleventh volume of Dickens’ All the Year Round, I first noticed the outer binding of the text, which was one-quarter leather with an interestingly stamped design of red, yellow, and orange colors.  The spine was ridged here and there where the gold etches of a flower-type emblem was repeatedly marked, and the title rested on a smooth, black background. 

            Inside the fifteenth volume of Household Words, I found the contents to be very interesting, because all the topics published in the journal were in alphabetical order with indicating page numbers rather than being listed in order of appearance.  Another interesting aspect regarding the contents included the separation of the poetry as a category partial to the rest of the topics.  I discovered All the Year Round to have the same quality in its contents.
            When I flipped to the first published periodical of Household Words, I came across a non-fiction article called “Murderous Extremes”, which was an article about a murder which was committed in a small public shop that was “nearly all window” (pg. 1).  Supposedly the “blows” of the murderer and the “feeble groans” of the victim were heard in the public street to several people, but nobody interfered, except for a small errand boy (pg.1).  In the next article after “Murderous Extremes”, I found a fictional story which presented readers with the opportunity to recover and relax from the traumatizing article of the murder.

            Another Victorian topic of interest appeared to regard American names of places, such as the number of times the New World used London and many other London street names to label American towns, places, and architecture.  As of 1857, America had six Londons beside eleven New Londons and one London Bridge (pg. 299).  In another article, “Weeds”, Victorians read about how the weed was the first owner of the soil and how they do as they please and grow wherever they feel fit to grow.  In several more articles I found that mythological creatures were a highlight topic, such as “Dragons, Griffins, and Salamanders” (pg. 427) and “The Witches of Scotland” (pg. 75).

            Throughout Household Words, I came to find there were many chapters regarding longer novels, such as “The Dead Street” and “Agnes Lee”.  Throughout All the Year Round, I found articles called “Happy Idiots”, “How King Charles’s Head was Loosened”, “Making Tea in India”, and “Touch of the Gout”.  Below, I have attached images of All the Year Round’s binding and the first segment of “Dragons, Griffins, and Salamanders”.

            While Dickens’ periodicals are published online, the experience of reading the texts in the Rare Books Room was much more satisfactory.  Not only was stepping into the room a blast into the past, but being able to feel the coarse, papery texture of the pages made the reading exciting and interesting.  This is an experience I’m glad I didn’t miss.

Sources:

All the Year Round, Volume XI

Household Words, Volume XV

McKenzie Frey