The Old Curiosity Club discussion
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Hard Times
Hard Times
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Reading Schedule, and Preliminary Remarks
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Sorry to say, I will not be joining in for Hard Times either as I read it in 2017 with the Classics group but I will definitely be in the next read, Little Dorrit, I believe it should be. I have never read it and look forward to it. I will be joining in for the shorter pieces coming up.
I read Hard Times some 20 years ago, I will reread as I hardly remember anything. Finished Bleak House and I can see why it’s favourite of many... its plot is close knit and language is simple, I am about to finish Dombey and Son with another group and I noticed a lot of difference in language... I wonder why? Could anyone explain... its something to do with evolution of writing style in an author.... I suppose.I still have to decide about which biography of Dickens should I read.... any suggestions friends?
Anyways A Tale of Two Cities remains my all time all weather favourite lol.
Mod
Hi Nidhi
As one tracks Dickens’s novels from Pickwick forward one does notice a tightening of his style, a movement away from the picaresque novel to novels that have been at least partly planned out and developed prior to his pen hitting the page. I would agree that Dombey and Son is the fulcrum between the early novels and the later novels.
As to what biography to read. Wow. So many. I would say the two pillars of the “modern” biographers are Michael Slater and Peter Ackroyd. Both are massive - like a Dickens novel. There are shorter biographies that have a more focussed approach and slant to Dickens like Jane Smiley.
Perhaps it might be best just to sit in your favourite reading chair and join our Hard Times discussions. Then you could branch out at your own leisure.
We'll miss you, Bobbie, but will look forward to hanging out with you in the Marshalsea in a few months. :-)
Thanks Peter for the biography suggestions, I will go for the massive ones , definitely.
Mod
Peter’s suggestions for biographies are good. I would like to add Claire Tomalin’s Charles Dickens.Smiley focused on the works, which is a good approach. Tomalin was less on the works and more on the man. I think she humanized him to a great degree, so his life story seemed in such focus.
Tristram wrote: "Bobbie, it'll be good to have you back for Little Dorrit, though. And maybe, you'll till join us in that Trial for Murder?"Oh, I definitely plan to.
Nidhi, I read the Peter Ackroyd bio a number of years ago and really enjoyed it.
I have read this one a lot, mainly because I teach on a 10-week quarter, and it can be handy to have a shorter book. It's not the full feast some of the others are but when I think of Skimpole and the Smallweeds I'm not sure that's such a bad thing. There's not a lot of room to mess around in Hard Times. Curious to find out what you all will say about it.
From what I have read of biographies and literary discussions, Hard Times might have been his only novel not accompanied by illustrations. Or, perhaps there was one other, but either way it does make Hard Times distinct.
Mod
You have opened a slight can of worms with your comment regarding illustrations.
Great Expectations, like HT, was published weekly. It was published simultaneously in England and America. In the American publication there are illustrations by John McLenan. In the original “parts”and first edition in novel in the British publication there are no illustrations.
Naturally, this has created a bit of a dust storm around what is the true (and first) publishing of the parts/novel. GE is a “triple decker” and the most prized text for collectors. While there were many copies printed in the novel form most went into the hands of the circulating libraries in England and thus decreased the copies available for the public. The library copies were well thumbed and of little interest or value for collectors. In today’s market a first edition of the three volumes in very good or fine condition can run into very big money. Copies sell for around $75000. And all that for an English edition without illustrations!
Much to the embarrassment of my wife I knew a dealer who had a set of GE. I held the set in my hands but alas, that is as close as I will ever get to owning one.
Hard Times is much more affordable. :-)
Peter wrote: "JohnYou have opened a slight can of worms with your comment regarding illustrations.
Great Expectations, like HT, was published weekly. It was published simultaneously in England and America. I..."
Very interesting, Peter. My cousin is a rare book collector and seller based in California. I don’t own anything of much value except, apparently, a Modern Library edition of Ulysses from the 1950s. It has been a while, but I think my cousin placed the value around $200.
Owning something so rare and valuable is an awesome responsibility. The idea sounds wonderful, but the reality would be much too stressful for me. I'll leave that burden to others, and hope they can preserve these wonderful items for many generations to come. Not that I could afford such items even if I did want to take on such responsibility!
Mod
Yes, I agree. Like the cost of real estate, art, building supplies and everything else these days prices for items are way beyond the common man.
Peter Harrington, a rare book dealer in London, England, has a manuscript page, in Dickens’s hand, of Pickwick Papers for sale. Perhaps we could start a GoFundMe page. The page is offered at £97500.
Peter wrote: "a rare book dealer in London, England, has a manuscript page, in Dickens’s hand, of Pickwick Papers for sale. The page is offered at £97500. ..."If it's the page where his hat blows away, it's worth every penny. :-)
Mod
Peter wrote: "Great Expectations, like HT, was published weekly. It was published simultaneously in England and America. In the American publication there are illustrations by John McLenan. In the original “parts”and first edition in novel in the British publication there are no illustrations. Naturally, this has created a bit of a dust storm around what is the true (and first) publishing of the parts/novel. GE is a “triple decker” and the most prized text for collectors. ."
Hi, Peter--I'm a little confused. My understanding is a triple-decker is a 3-volume set, so not published in weekly parts. Are you saying it was published weekly in 3 weeks with a volume per week?
I'm not trying to be difficult; it's just that serial publication is one of my hobbyhorses so I'm very curious.
Mod
No problem.
Great Expectations was originally published weekly in serial form in All The Year Round from 1 December 1860 until August 1861. Chapman and Hall then published it as a novel in three volumes.
Compared to a “typical” Dickens novel with illustrations, GE is rather plain at first glance. It’s only when you see the price tag that your hands begin to sweat. Then, of course, the dealer will snatch it out of your hands. :-)
See the next two posts for a comparison between a “First” of Great Expectations and Hard Times.
Happy shopping!
Mod
Here is Great Expectations. The second dealer’s explanation sets the publishing history in a good context.
Seriously, my birthday is in two weeks. If anyone wants to give me a very special gift I would be quite happy to receive either of these two books offered. My wife has already informed me not to hold my breath.
Sigh.
Peter wrote: "Hi JulieNo problem.
Great Expectations was originally published weekly in serial form in All The Year Round from 1 December 1860 until August 1861. Chapman and Hall then published it as a novel..."
Ah, got it. That would be a pretty good birthday, I think.
Looks like Hard Times only came out in a single volume, then.
I'm with Mary Lou on thinking owning one of these would be more responsibility than I would want to take on. But I'm glad there are enough people who do want to play that role to put them behind museum glass or in special collections for the likes of people like me.
My particular edition of Hard Times is a Barnes & Noble Classic edition and is a Nook book. I read it on my iPad using the Nook app, which is similar to the Kindle app. I prefer Nook.It has a well-written introduction by Dickens’ scholar Karen Odden, along with annotations.
John wrote: " along with annotations...."John - I hope you'll share any interesting annotations you come across.
Mary Lou wrote: "John wrote: " along with annotations...."John - I hope you'll share any interesting annotations you come across."
Mary Lou, I will.
Our next Dickens novel is going to be Hard Times, which was first published in 1854. It is Dickens's shortest novel and one with which he intend to boost up sale figures of his magazine Household Words.
Peter is going to open our reading of this novel with two shorter essays by Dickens on the social question which were also published in the magazine mentioned above. They are called "The Quiet Poor" and "Ground in the Mill" and can be accessed under the following link:
https://dickens.stanford.edu/dickens/...
Hard Times, short as it is, falls into three books, and Dickens published it in weekly instalments. To give you a feeling of the pace of the story and the way readers must have experienced it back then, we have decided to read the first book in the weekly instalments as they were published and only for the two following books to quicken the reading pace by taking more weekly intalments than one into our weekly readings.
We have come up with the following reading schedule as a result, and hope you are going to like it:
03/06 – 09/06/2021 The Quiet Poor
Ground in the Mill
10/06 – 16/06/2021 Hard Times, I: 1-3
17/06 – 23/06/2021 Hard Times, I: 4-5
24/06 – 30/06/2021 Hard Times, I: 6
01/07 – 07/07/2021 Hard Times, I: 7-8
08/07 – 14/07/2021 Hard Times, I: 9-10
15/07 – 21/07/2021 Hard Times, I: 11-12
22/07 – 28/07/2021 Hard Times, I: 13-14
29/07 – 04/08/2021 Hard Times, I: 15-16
05/08 – 11/08/2021 Hard Times, II: 1-5
12/08 – 18/08/2021 Hard Times, II: 6-10
19/08 – 25/08/2021 Hard Times, II: 11-12
26/08 – 01/09/2021 Hard Times, III: 1-5
02/09 – 08/09/2021 Hard Times, III: 6-9
I wish you all a happy reading experience!