Nino Erba Response 1

On Wednesday, half of the “Bleak House in Context” class went into the Rare Books Room of the library to look at entries of All the Year Round and Household Words, two weekly publications that Charles Dickens edited, conducted, and contributed to. What made the experience memorable was a combination of being in the Rare Books Room and reading the content of those publications.

            What makes the Rare Books Room a fairly daunting experience is that the room has an air about it that makes you scared to speak or move around in fear that you’ll break something. The chairs provided are very ornate and old; the publications are from the 19^th century, so the books they are in are not only old but fragile, which makes you quite reserved about going the book in fear that you might tear the pages or damage the book. The table was very beautifully painted. Everything in the room is meant to be treated with care, but you’re almost scared to do anything because of the fragility and importance of everything. As you read the publications, you are more conscientious than you normally would be, going through the brittle browned pages with much care and awareness. Being in the Rare Books Room is a great privilege.

            That also extends to reading the material, though it’s more puzzling. Dickens was a very good writer, and some of the stories published pull you in with their subject matter and quality of writing. However, his organization leaves something to be desired. The pieces run all over the map in no particular order, going from non-fiction to fiction to poetry and everything in between. The Victorians did not seem to mind because the pieces catered to their tastes. Sometimes, a piece would hit the jackpot, like a story in the Jan. 11, 1862 issue of All the Year Round titled “Word About Servants” (see image below) that examined relationships amongst servants and like-minded subjects, including that “Servants of the present day are a very different class from the servants of a century ago…” (p. 368). In addition, Victorians were much interested in the poetry and stories about Australia at the time.

            There is no doubt that Dickens was an excellent contributor to Victorian society and English literature. However, cautiously looking through the old publications of All the Year Round and Household Words show that not everything he touched turned to gold. The organization of his issues pales in comparison to the streamlined structure of today’s newspapers and magazines.