I’m on the fifth lecture of the Commerce and Culture podcast by Paul Cantor. This episode explains how capitalism increased the literacy rates of the poor during the 19th century.
Here are some of the basic points he made. The Serialized Novel in the 19th Century
- Charles Dickens’ stories reflected the times of his day
- He marketed his work to the masses in a way they can relate
- As a result, Dickens became wealthy after listening to the free market
- He praised capitalism and middle-class values
- Literacy rates increased after mass printing of serialized novels
- Serialized novels were typically printed in magazines and consisted of three books with twenty parts
- Serialized novels were weekly or monthly installments, it was the Victorian version of TV shows
- It was also cheaper to print than a book
- Books were rented out from libraries it’s akin to renting Blockbuster videos
- Writing was a Victorian woman’s greatest opportunity to earn an income