Charles Dickens began publishing the magazine
Household Wordsas a home for short fiction and cause-based social journalism. Its title came from its motto, a quotation from Shakespeare's
Henry Vwhich declared its contents as 'familiar in their mouths as household words'. Over the decade of its publication, several important Victorian novels were serialised in its pages, including Elizabeth Gaskell's
North and South, several collaborations between Dickens and Wilkie Collins, and Dickens's own novel
Hard Times. It was nominally aimed at the poor and working classes, being priced at two pence, but was also produced in more luxurious monthly issues and bi-annual volumes, making it equally attractive to the middle classes. It eventually came to an end in 1859, amid disputes between Dickens…
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Dickens’ Household Words begins publication". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=519, accessed 06 May 2024.]