Preparing for the 2019 Chapter-a-Day Read-along: The Old Curiosity Shop
We are a week away from beginning our final chapter-a-day book of the year, The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens. We end our reading of Lilith next Saturday, October 19, and begin The Old Curiosity Shop on Sunday, October 20. From Don Quixote to The Count of Monte Cristo to Lilith, we’ve gone from Spain to France to the region of the seven dimensions, and we’re going to end our year in England.
There’s something about reading Dickens in the twilight of the year, as leaves are falling and logs are on the fire, that feels right. As much as I love Cervantes and Dumas, this is the book I’ve been anticipating most this year. Maybe it’s because I last read a Dickens novel nine years ago when I reread Tale of Two Cities. Or maybe it’s because I’ve never read The Old Curiosity Shop, and I’m ready to get lost in a new story. Or maybe it’s simply the title, which makes me think of antiques and old books.
The Old Curiosity Shop was published as a weekly serial from April 25, 1840 to February 6, 1841. It contains 73 chapters, which will take us right up to December 31. It appears that Dickens originally conceived it as a short story but after a few chapters decided to expand it into a full novel.
Since I’ve never read The Old Curiosity Shop, I have deliberately avoided reading about the plot, wanting to enjoy it as it unfolds. The only thing I really know about it is that it was tremendously popular in its day, both in England and in America. According to Megan Garber in The Atlantic,
Before the arrival of the 40th and final installment of The Old Curiosity Shop, in 1841, American readers of the series were forced to wait. And wait. And wait—not just for Charles Dickens to finish his story, but for his completed work to cross the Atlantic. When the ship bearing the resolution of the series finally docked in New York, a mob desperate to learn the fate of the tale’s protagonist…stormed the wharf.
I’ll be reading the very reasonably priced Kindle edition by Open Road. You can also find The Old Curiosity Shop for free online at Project Gutenberg and there are several audiobook versions at Librivox. As with all our read-alongs, I will be posting quotes from each chapter on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #curiosityshopreadalong and I invite you to do the same.
