It is late
1860. British explorers are in Africa, seeking the source of the Nile River.
The Second Opium War has just been brought to an end in China. The first
professional golf tournament has been held in Scotland, and would soon become
known as the British Open. In the United States, Abraham Lincoln has just been
elected President, and South Carolina is preparing to vote to secede from the
Union.
And in
London, Charles Dickens sends his friend John Forster a letter, describing a new “little
piece” he’s been working on and is on the verge of completing. Dickens needed
something for his magazine All the Year
Round; a novel by writer Charles Lever which was being serialized was
simply not drawing the interest Dickens had hoped for. He described his new
story as “fine, new, and grotesque,” and he said planned to publish it in 20
numbers or installments, beginning Dec. 1 (there would be a total of 36
episodes.
That
“little piece” was Great
Expectations,
which came to be one of the author’s best and most beloved works. It was a
success from the very first episode.
To
continue reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak
Poetry.
Top illustration: Pip meets the
convict Abel Magwith in the churchyard in Great Expectations.
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