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Yes, I feel it is supposed to be a magazine or variety show format. I thought that was the idea of Household Words. I also seem to remember that The Old Curiosity Shop was projected to be that way but there weren't enough submissions, or Dickens didn't like them, so he turned it into one long novel. One of you Dickens scholars can correct me on that if you have the information.And yes, the frame story will wrap up at the end.
Robin P wrote: "Yes, I feel it is supposed to be a magazine or variety show format. I thought that was the idea of Household Words. I also seem to remember that The Old Curiosity Shop was projected to be that way ..."Old Curiosity Shop is a little bit different to the Christmas Stories in that Dickens was the sole author – with his shorter stories fitting into the framed theme - whereas in The Holly Tree Inn other authors were invited to write stories to fit into the frame theme
Master Humphrey’s Clock was a weekly journal written entirely by Dickens. Where Master Humphrey and other characters read stories stored inside the grandfather clock. Some of the stories brought back old characters like Mr Pickwick. However, when sales of MHC started to drop Dickens introduced The Old Curiosity Shop, which some scholars say was in itself meant to be a series of short stories, but Dickens gained such momentum along the way that he turned it into a full-length novel – this novel was followed by Barneby Rudge in the same weekly format
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Thanks for this Robin, (and Sean). Yes, "Household Words" was a typical magazine format, as you say.
I don't usually recommend Wiki on Charles Dickens (there are far too many spoilers apart from anything else!) But the article on "Household Words" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Househo... is safe enough for everyone, and factually interesting. It includes Charles Dickens's own words about his plans (although he wrote much more in confidence to John Forster, as many of you will have read in our side reads.)
"Household Words" was quite prescriptive in terms of the tone he wanted to take - issues of social justice etc - and both non-fiction and any fiction to be accepted had to conform to Charles Dickens's beliefs and principles. The piece he wrote about this is included in one of the collaborations I mentioned before.
Yes, your memory is quite correct Robin, Charles Dickens "changed horses mid-stream" as it were, with The Old Curiosity Shop. At the end of chapter 3, the narrator disappears, and the tone is completely different! It feels very odd unless you know ... but I've explained all the details in my review LINK HERE - starting at paragraph 6. I won't repeat it here, as we're not really discussing that novel.
Sean thanks for yours - as you say none of Charles Dickens's novels including works by other authors, although they were all initially serialised in his magazines. Only the shorter works were collaborative pieces. You really should write reviews!
Thanks also to Greg and Bridget, who can always be relied on for great textual observations and insights :)
Thanks, everyone, for the additional information!**Summary of Part VI - The Poor Pensioner***
Written by Holme Lee, a pen name for Harriet Parr
Note - there are a few typos/misprints in the version attached by Jean. I thought one of them was "Ings" but that is actually the name of a farm!
Our narrator runs into an older woman, walking around muttering, and dressed insufficiently for the weather. A waiter explains that she is harmless and gets the leftover or unneeded food (I assume this is what "broken victuals" means), and that she doesn't seem to feel the cold. She keeps saying, "He was not guilty, my lord judge. God will right him yet. It will all come out some day. It can wait: yes I can wait. I am more patient than death; I am more patient than injustice."
Charley learns her story, Her name is Hester, and she is from a local family who didn't manage their farm well. She was beautiful and also strong-willed and proud. A whole other story seems to be contained in this sentence: "At sixteen she married, and very shortly afterward her husband found it expedient to leave the dales, and to enlist in a regiment which was ordered on foreign service." Her husband must have gotten in some sort of trouble. The couple went to India and while they were away and out of touch, all of Hester's siblings died, leaving her parents alone.
The story picks up on a wintry night when the parents hear and see something outside, that turns out to be Hester, weak and cold, but bringing a baby boy who is healthy. She had been sent home after her husband's death and had to beg her way across the country. (Wouldn't there have been a pension? Or maybe he died in a dishonorable way, not on duty?) Hester does well managing the farm and her son grows up strong. This seems to be another tale of hard work rewarded. But the boy Wilfred has his mother's temperament and the two clash often.
When the old parents die, Wilfred pressures his mother to sell the farm and move somewhere more exciting, but she says she will only do this to save his life. He falls in love with a neighbor girl called Nelly. She is described as a flirt, who plays with Wilfred's affections, quarreling and making up for no good reason. Hester warns her son against Nelly but to no effect. Finally, Nelly gets engaged to an older , and richer, farmer named Joseph Rigby. Wilfred again begs his mother to sell the farm, and to emigrate (to Australia again?) She asks him to wait a year.
Rigby is found murdered in a ditch, his gold stolen. Witnesses saw Wilfred threaten Rigby earlier in the day. When officers come to arrest him, Hester asserts that he was home by the time of the attack. The maid agrees at first but seems confused. Hester vows to use all her money and even sell the farm to help Wilfred. The maid's evidence becomes more muddled than ever, and several witnesses attest to seeing Wilfred on the road later than he claimed. Even Nelly speaks against him, and the dead man's watch is found in an outbuilding on Wilfred's farm. Wilfred and Hester continue to proclaim his innocence.
Wilfred is hanged and his mother, with no home and no money, wanders around begging until she is taken in at the Holly Tree Inn. She keeps saying the same statement, which she had started at the trial. She positions herself in the path of the coach that takes the judges to court and confronts them with her accusations. The story ends
"Will she find, when she comes before the Tribunal of Eternal decrees, that she has leaned thus upon a broken reed, or will she find her son there, free from the guilt of blood?
The Great Judge only knows."
This story has a dark resonance, although it doesn't contain ghosts or other supernatural events. It reminds me of some of the "true crime" books and podcasts popular today, questioning whether the courts correctly adjudicated a case.
**Summary of Part VII - The Bill**This is my favorite part of the collection. We finally return to Charley, who has used a week to hear and write up the stories he learned at the inn. Although he was originally eager to be gone, he waits an extra day to be sure the roads are really clear, and also to finish his writing. He admits that he has made friends and "almost" lost his shyness. But now he takes up again his plan of a pilgrimage to the place where he met Angela, then on to America.
As he is finally leaving, a coach approaches in a hurry. (I like the details of how the hooves can't be heard in the snow and how the snow is heaped up on each side of the road.) Who should jump down from the carriage but Charley's friend (or ex-friend) Edwin! There follows a conversation familiar to comedy in all ages, where the friends are talking at cross-purposes:
"Charley, forgive me!"
"Edwin!" I returned. "Was this well? When I loved her so dearly! When I had garnered up my heart so long!" I could say no more.
He was shocked when he saw how moved I was, and made the cruel observation that he had not thought I should have taken it so much to heart.
I looked at him. I reproached him no more. But I looked at him.
"My dear, dear Charley," said he; "don't think ill of me I beseech you! I know you have a right to my utmost confidence, and, believe me, you have ever had it until now. I abhor secrecy. Its meanness is intolerable to me. But I and my dear girl have observed it for your sake."
He and his dear girl! It steeled me.
"You have observed it for my sake, sir?" said I wondering how his frank face could face it out so.
"Yes! and Angela's," said he.
I found the room reeling round in an uncertain way, like a laboring humming-top. "Explain yourself," said I, holding on by one hand to an arm-chair.
Edwin says he didn't want to compromise Charley's relationship with Angela's family by telling him his secret engagement to - Emmeline! (though Angela figured it out herself.)
Then we come to perhaps my favorite lines of the whole story:
"Emmeline was Angela's cousin. Lived with her. Had been brought up with her. Was her father's ward. Had property." There is something about the telegraphic style of these revelations that is so effective, and contrasts with the melodramatic way Charley had been thinking of his life. For of course, it is Emmeline in the coach, and Charley gladly helps them on their way. Suddenly, Charley loves everyone, and we get a new series of statements in a rush.
"I put their leaders to with my own hands, I gave the boys a five-pound note apiece, I cheered them as they drove away, I drove the other way myself as hard as I could pelt.
I never went to Liverpool, I never went to America, I went straight back to London, and I married Angela." We find out that they had 8 children, and their friends 7, and that this incident (which he never told anyone till now) taught Charley to enjoy Christmastime and to bless the holly tree.
There are a few holes in the story, like why did Charley assume Edwin had stolen Angela? Maybe he found them deep in intimate conversation (about Emmeline) and jumped to comedic, or melodramatic, conclusions. And of course, it is extremely convenient that Charley happened to be leaving the inn just as the couple arrives on their way to the famous Gretna Green. If he hadn't been there, he would have left England without informing anyone of his plan, and would never have known the truth. At least we see that Charley is well suited for his current bent as a writer, since he has plenty of imagination!
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How annoying! I do wish people would proofread properly - especially if it is for a wide audience. Does it appear as if "Ings" is the name of a character then, Robin? I find so many mistakes - even in articles about him :( And the GR entry for the different editions of this work is a mess. Not GR's fault, as many publishers profess to be publishing the whole work of "The Holly-Tree Inn" ... and we know that is not so!
It was the only version I could find of all the stories at the time, (unless you know of one, Robin?) but oddly, I discovered a print one earlier today: an edition dating from the 1920s, and with illustrations by Thomas Dalzeil, one of the famous Dickens illustrators :) It's to be a Christmas pressie to me, (YAY) so I'll add details to the GR database and this thread later :)
Thanks for these 2 lovely summaries, which are now linked separately to the first comment, so all the links are now in place :) Petra also wrote a great bio of Harriet Parr, in the same thread as her earlier bio - a search via the "search discussion posts" box on the right of any page in "Dickensians!" should find it, if anyone is interested. Harriet Parr often wrote for these collaborations.
I thought the poor pensioner was a good story although I would’ve liked a more definitive ending (whether the son really was a murderer or not).The Bill is a nice way to round off the collection.
I’m not sure anything really stood out as outstanding for me in this collection. It was a pleasant read but I doubt I’ll remember much of it down the track (except maybe the lyrebird shooting!).
I agree Janelle, that I probably won't remember much of this later on. I liked all the stories well enough. I liked "The Boots" story best, but surprisingly I liked the first story "Guest" the least. With all its rambling ghost stories, I found that one hard to get through.I liked how the end result of "The Bill" tied in with that last line of "The Boots" it would be a jolly good thing for a great many couples on their way to be married, if they could only be stopped in time and brought back separately. Because of course if Charley had not been stopped by snow for a week, he never would have married Angela. A nice little twist by Charles Dickens
Thank you Robin for your wonderful summaries! It helped me know for sure that I understood a couple of the stories where I felt maybe I got a little bit lost.
Janelle wrote: "I thought the poor pensioner was a good story although I would’ve liked a more definitive ending (whether the son really was a murderer or not)....."I know what you mean Janelle, though I think it's actually even sadder the way it is. It's a little like a person who loves someone who has gone missing and stays missing for a long time. They cannot grieve the way they would if their loved one has died, but they cannot have the relief of knowing their loved one is ok either. Poor Hester is also stuck in limbo, maybe for the rest of her life.
She cannot be angry with him for being guilty, and she cannot go through the long, hard process of forgiving him because she does not know whether he has done the crime. And yet, she cannot have any relief, with the judgement of her neighbors hard against her son. What mother could tolerate an unfair judgement against her son that persists forever? Even after his death, they still judge him. I find her predicament in the ending quite affecting:
"Will she find, when she comes before the Tribunal of Eternal decrees, that she has leaned thus upon a broken reed, or will she find her son there, free from the guilt of blood?
The Great Judge only knows."
Of course, I do want to know though - was he innocent in truth or not? But the answer does not come.
I wish life was always like a traditional story, where we get all the answers we deserve eventually, but there are some times we never get to know, whether we deserve to or not. It's one of life's great sadnesses I think. And it is that unknowing that has broken this once proud woman.
I love the moment in the story where the narrator observes Hester unawares, and he sees:
"She took up a handful of the newly-fallen snow and thrust it into her bosom, then hugged it close, as if it were a living thing, that could be warmed by that eager clasp; I saw also, as she turned her dark face up toward the sky, that the anger scowl left it."
There is the futility of the gesture, the utter futility of trying to convey comfort or to get comfort from a handful of snow. And also, there's something childlike in that look upward toward the sky. Even in her desperate condition, there must be a little remnant of wonder or grace in her that makes her look up that way. She seems to get a small, fleeting consolation from the glance even, from that brief experience of the natural world. It feels so human, this private moment that Hester has here, unobserved.
Thank you, Robin and thank to you all!Do you think that in The poor pensioner the son was a murderer? If he was not, an innocent man was executed, a rather disturbing thought... The happy ending with Charley and Angela was more appropriate to a Christmassy spirit :)
The thing that makes The Poor Pensioner so sad is that we do not know the guilt or innocence, but we see that the legal systems believes the one and the mother genuinely believes the other. There is a true sadness in thinking he might have been hanged innocent, but then his soul is pure and his fate after death a reward. Of course, if he is guilty than he has gone to his death unrepentant and lost. And these must also be the thoughts of his mother as she looks into the heavens clasping something cold and chilling, as the snow, to her breast.The Bill was a nice tie up to the opening story and serves well to close the gap. It was interesting to me that my original thought on the opening story was that the narrator had not bothered to confront anyone or get the facts and that his extreme intentions might be misguided.
Thank you, Robin, for selecting and guiding a lovely read and to everyone else for adding to the enjoyment.
Excellent group read everyone, and even though I read only the stories that Dickens wrote I still enjoyed reading all – I read every single one of them, and some more than once - of the contributions by fellow Dickensians, especially the summaries by Robin. Nice one
Sara wrote: "The thing that makes The Poor Pensioner so sad is that we do not know the guilt or innocence, but we see that the legal systems believes the one and the mother genuinely believes the other. There i..."I like that Sara, and it makes sense to me that she's considering heaven when she looks up as you say. Is that why her face softens when she looks up? Is she imagining herself with her son in heaven again? I didn't catch that when I read it, but it certainly seems possible.
But for me, there is a big difference between believing and knowing. I imagine she has to believe in his innocence because the prospect of it being otherwise is so unspeakably painful. And maybe he is innocent, who knows? But even if he were not, in the absence of any certainty, she would have to cling to that hope.
On the other hand, there is a laziness in the village's judgement that makes me suspicious. It seems they considered him gulity immediately only because the two men didn't get along. The watch is the only compelling evidence really, but the legal system doesn't seem very circumspect and I am not sure of it. There are witnesses, but the testimony is conflicting.
I almost think it would be easier if Hester knew for sure, no matter which way, because she could then find a way to eventually make peace with it . . . or at least, she could come to accept the comfort of the other villagers. But as it is, she's in perpetual conflict with everyone around her because of their continued judgement of her son. She is cut off from all human comfort. She is alone. And her need to repeatedly tell everyone what she does comes partly from trying to crush that spark of doubt she must have herself; she is struggling against everyone else and against whatever little doubt remains in herself; there can be no peace in that kind of constant struggle.
Sara wrote: "It also appears to me that he has reached this conclusion by himself that Angela prefers his friend. Does she know she is meant to have jilted him? There is no recount of any discussion between him..."Sara, it appears you were right!
Ha, I knew something strange was going on there with those continued phone calls with Angela. A little crazy that he was about to flee to America without having very clear indications from her (!), but how lovely that in a Christmas story things worked out. I guess Angela better keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn't run off again half-cocked in the future, but his heart at least seems to be in the right place.
Daniela, I completely agree that this is more Christmas-like than "The Poor Pensioner." Actually three of the stories were quite sad and downbeat - "The Ostler," "The Bar-maid," and "The Poor Pensioner." I did like them for the most part, but maybe that's why Dickens was unhappy with the selection as you said Sean?
Robin, I enjoyed the end frame also; it had some great feel-good moments! To me though, I think "The Boots" steals the show. That story was priceless! I thought it was a standout.
Bridget, I like that tie-in between "The Boots" and "The Bill." Nice!
Thanks Robin and everyone for the fun group read!
Thanks, Robin, for the wonderful summaries of each story!We've mentioned about Dickens being upset with the first set of stories that his contributing authors sent to him. (Sean in comment 136) In the forward of my book, Melisa Klimaszewski writes that Dickens had not given the authors guidelines pertaining to plot. "One of his specific complaints, for instance, was that too many of the initial contributions were about criminals, yet his practice was not to suggest plots for contributors, which always left open the possibility that their stories could be similar. . . Dickens was particularly invested in making sure the finalized set of stories was a good one because his name was the only one to appear in print on the Christmas issue."
In addition to a few quick mentions about criminals in Dickens' "The Guest," It looks like two stories about criminals made the cut--Wilkie Collins' "The Ostler" and Harriet Parr's "The Poor Pensioner." I noticed that he picked two stories where there were loving mothers concerned about their sons. So the stories are able to fit in with the warm Christmas theme of love, even though a criminal element is also present.
The book I am using is The Holly-Tree Inn.
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It sounds as though you have discovered another print version of the entire work Connie (YAY!) Could you link to it, so I can find it please? (Melissa Klimaszewski does not come up as an extra author, so I can't search that way. Perhaps she has not written much about him). I'd really like to have a look at that one :)
Fantastic in-depth comments everyone!
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Connie: “Melissa Klimaszewski writes that Dickens had not given the authors guidelines pertaining to plot”I’m not certain Klimaszewski is correct (I haven’t read her, I’m just making the general point) in saying that Dickens hadn’t given author’s guidelines to the plot, or at least his instructions were no less thorough than any of the previous sets of guidelines to authors invited to write pieces for the Christmas Stories.
Stone, in his The Uncollected Writings of Charles Dickens (1968) details Dickens’ instructions to contributors for the Christmas Stories generally as well as those prospective authors for the Holly Tree Inn specifically - including note/instructions to individuals for the story - Stone prints them out verbatim, and it looks to me that the instructions are quite detailed. In fact, Dickens writes to Wills to say how dismayed he is at their lack of understanding of his ‘simple instructions’ - though to be fair to Klimaszewski, there’s no explicit detailing of plot, but neither is there for any of the Christmas Story Instructions
Source: Harry Stone The Uncollected Writings of Charles Dickens vol 2 p 661 Appendix D (for Holly Tree Inn specifically), and Appendix C and E for contributors in general
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It looks as if her main area of specialism is Victorian literature, although she has written a couple of books about Charles Dickens from a wider perspective. I do fear though, that she has not gone to the source material here. Either that, or she intended to imply something else, and should have explained what she meant more fully, with specific examples.
The book I linked to does seem to focus on the Christmas numbers. It would be interesting to see how well researched it is, and look at the appendix. Perhaps she has faulty source material in this case.
Bionic Jean wrote: "Ah, searching the web I find Collaborative Dickens: Authorship and Victorian Christmas Periodicals by Melisa Klimaszewski so she is on GR after all :) (Just a diffe..."Yes, it is
The Holly-Tree Inn, published by Hesperus Classics. She is writing about the lack of instruction about the topics of the contributing authors' stories. I'll give you a longer quote from Melisa Klimaszewki's introduction:"The Holly-Tree Inn was the sixth special Christmas issue, or number, of Dickens' journal 'Household Words,' but only the second for which he used a theme to construct a complete narrative frame story. The Seven Poor Travellers, 1854's Christmas number, moved beyond the loose frame concept of A Round of Stories by the Christmas Fire (1852) and Another Round of Stories by the Christmas Fire (1853) by describing all of the narrators at a charity house and by linking the first and last stories to construct an explicit frame. Building upon those results, The Holly-Tree Inn continues to use travel and lodging for its organising theme. In early October of 1855, Dickens composed instructions to prospective contributors that make clear his narrative aims:
Both for the sake of variety between this No. and the previous Christmas numbers, and also for the preservation of the idea, it is necessary that the stories should not be in the first person but should be turned as if this traveller were recording them. . . . the person to whom the story belongs may be described, if necessary, as pretty or ugly--of such an age--of such a bringing up--and what is related about him or her may have happened at that Inn, or at another Inn, or at no Inn; and may belong to that person's present condition in life, or to some previous condition in life--and not only to himself or herself, but (if necessary) to other persons encountered in life.
Such open-ended instructions would seem to invite just about any type of story, but Dickens was less than thrilled with the initial contributions. Writing to his sub-editor, W. H. Wills, Dickens called one of the rejected stories 'unmitigated, bawdy Rot' and complained, 'The way in which they don't fit into that elaborately described plan, so simple in itself, amazes me.' Since the 'elaborately described plan' included no guidelines pertaining to topic, the problems Dickens encountered may have stemmed more from his own lack of precise instruction rather than from the stories not actually fitting into the frame. One of his specific complaints, for instance, was that too many of the initial contributions were about criminals, yet his practice was not to suggest plots for contributors, which always left open the possibility that their stories could be similar." (vii-viii)
Bionic Jean wrote: "Thanks Sean - I admit that Melisa Klimaszewski's contention surprised me too. Charles Dickens was usually so attentive and prescriptive as to the stories in "All th..."Yes, I think we have to take Dickens’ word on this matter as a pretty strong indication that there was detailed instructions given to contributors, only if we take into account the ‘desperate’ letter that he sent to Wilks (his sub-editor) regarding The Holly Tree Inn sent on 24 Nov 1855, part of the letter where he’s complaining about the current contributors, he goes on to say:
”… by Heaven we shall come poorly off. The way they don’t fit into that elaborately described plan [my italics], so simple in itself, amazes me”
The frame idea of having a group of people each tell a story, whether about themselves or someone else, is at least as old as Chaucer. It also is the basis of many disaster movies, mysteries or dramas where a miscellaneous assembly of people ends up revealing secrets about each of them. (A recent example is Anxious People by Frederik Backman, a modern classic is The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Sorry, GR search is down at the moment so I can't link them). And it's common in the romance field for several authors to submit stories with a theme, such as Christmas, for a paperback edition.
Thanks, everyone, for your participation and your excellent comments. As I mentioned above, I didn't know we were going to read all the sections, but I did find them interesting as a glimpse of what readers of the era would have found. I love the frame story, ridiculous as it may be.
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In a way, Charles Dickens seems to have assumed that his initial guidelines for "All the Year Round" were being ignored: e.g "unmitigated, bawdy Rot" would certainly not comply with his stipulation that it should be wholesome family entertainment. (The introductory plan in a letter to John Forster is quoted in the thread for one of the other collaborations.)
For those who haven't yet read the end stories, there's still plenty of time. This section's discussion and its conclusion continues, as per Robin's timetable in comment 2, until next Wednesday, December 15th.
Then we have a few days before our next read :)
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That you so much Robin, for all your work, and your fantastic summaries :)
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Dickensians!
Books mentioned in this topic
Another Round of Stories by the Christmas Fire (other topics)Collaborative Dickens: Authorship and Victorian Christmas Periodicals (other topics)
The Seven Poor Travellers (other topics)
The Holly-Tree Inn (other topics)
A Round of Stories by the Christmas Fire (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Charles Dickens (other topics)John Forster (other topics)
Charles Dickens (other topics)
Melisa Klimaszewski (other topics)
Melisa Klimaszewski (other topics)
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I too was appalled by the shooting of the lyrebirds.
I wonder if Aborigines were livi..."
Glad you enjoyed it Bridget and Daniela! I wasn't too fond of Howitt's writing style myself, but he must have something going for him to still be discussed a century later. And I can certainly understand the appeal of his message of bravery and perseverence!
It is nice that everyone can find something to enjoy in the collection!