Why Are Charles Dickens’s Novels So Full Of Cliffhangers?

Modern readers are often struck by the number of chapters in most Dickens novels which end on a note of suspense. While it's true that he had a taste for melodrama (his first love was the theatre) there is a more practical explanation for many of Dickens's cliffhangers. Most of his novels were written in serial form, appearing in monthly instalments in magazines such as "Bentley's Miscellany" (of which he was also the editor.) The novels were not written in advance and then divided; he wrote them month by month to meet deadlines. This meant that he often began a story with no idea how it was going to end. In fact he once overheard a woman in a shop asking for the next instalment of one of his stories, and realised with alarm that he not only hadn't written it yet, but still didn't know what was going to happen next.
The habit of serial writing made Dickens a master at creating suspense; his power over his readers was demonstrated by the crowds that regularly gathered at the New York docks, waiting for the latest chapters to be delivered.

Add Comment

Report