would be especially welcome to me,
particularly with the growth of feminist
criticism in the last ten years and the
interesting work which is now being done in
that area of Dickens studies.
Since 1905 there have been many
changes to The Dickensian. The magazine is
now published three times a year, instead of
monthly as it was initially. It has a new
cover, albeit in the same green, bearing a
picture of the young Dickens posting off his
first literary contribution on the Spring issue,
a Dickens mature and upright in middle age
for the Summer issue, and Dickens bowed and
weary departing from the morgue in Paris on
the cover of the Autumn issue. A Winter
issue would be too depressing to contemplate.
There have also been changes inside the
covers, Dickens studies has become a serious
business since the early days of 1905. While
the magazine is still for 'Dickens lovers' and
contains many lightheaded pieces to entertain
and to delight its readers, a great number of
those readers are now highly trained in
critical skills, reading Dickens at school and
college for professional as well as personal
reasons. The necessity of moving with the
times (and keeping up with sales) has meant
an increase in the number of substantial
critical essays - a change regretted by some.
But then, if, as I have been told, reading the
early issues of The Dickensian can be likened
to the addiction of eating more and more
salted peanuts, then it should be pointed out
that the present recipes on the menu for The
Dickensian provide rather more sustaining
intellectual fare.
Recent issues have included articles on
brothers and sisters in Dombey and Son, the
illustrations to Pictures from Italythe
history of Dickens's friendship with Henry
Spicer, an all-but forgotten dramatist, the
narrative structures of Oliver Twist, and
Dickens's attitudes to changing modes of
transport in his time. Lighter subjects have
also had their place, with articles on the
'Dickensian' elements in modern British film,
the presentation of Dickens's female
characters in a one woman show by the
distinguished actor Miriam Margoyles, and an
Australian novel and television adaptation
which exploited the plot lines of Great
Expectations. With all this each issue
carries regular book reviews, notes on any
snippets of news of the most general
'Dickensian' interest (under the title,
courtesy of Captain Cuttle, of 'When
Found'), and news from the Dickens
Fellowship at large. With this potent mixture
of serious pleasure and solid entertainment,
The Dickensian, unlike so many of its once
successful contemporary journals, retains its
place as an important forum for Dickens
studies, as well as a trusted and
inexhaustible source of refreshment for
Dickens lovers.
