In the 19^th century, child labor was not a new invention. Poor families have always influenced children to enter the workforce as soon as they were able bring in income. Additionally, children often made practical and cheap employees for big businesses. By the mid-1800s, it was the norm for children to work a dozen hours a day doing hard labor, often in coal mines. Around the same time, the working conditions had become so bad that legislature and literature used their influence to improve working circumstances for child workers.

In the year 1842, author and poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, observed and read reports regarding the dire conditions and exploitation of children in the coal mines of Britain. A year later, she published her poem The Cry of the Children. Her poem advocates for the children workers by appealing to the public. Published widely, starting in the capital of Scotland, Browning’s poem was a powerful protest against the terrible state...

A governess is a women employed in a private household to educate pupils (usually girls) in a range of “accomplishments” ranging from reading to drawing. Governesses became increasing popular through the Victorian era for both the Upper and Middle-classes. Women who became governesses were generally “ladies” of an upper or middle-class upbringing themselves that had fallen on hard times and required to work for their living. Generally, governesses would live in the household and receive a salary along with their room and board. Because of their class, governesses commonly found themselves outsiders within the household. The governess’s role as caregiver of the family children and (usually) higher social background made it difficult for a governess to find their position within the social hierarchy of the household. They could not socialize with their employers and often they were ostracized by the other servants of the household for their required deference. This meant that life as...

Magazine Day in the 1820’s is equivalent to us, today, waiting for the newest blockbuster film to come out (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Avengers, etc.). While we are in anticipation as to what will happen to our beloved characters and the dramatic shifts in the story lines, so were the people of England during the era of periodicals and magazines. Waiting for the monthly installment of magazines was regarded to be a wait of high anticipation. During this period, Charles Dickens was one of the authors who seemed to thrive while writing his novels in installments, instead of all at once. According to Michelle Allen Emerson, “it is unlikely, however, that Magazine Day would have become as culturally central as it did without Dickens’s unrivalled success with the monthly serial form”.

Oliver Twist, written by Dickens, was published in periodicals. You can see the ways that Dickens was able to captivate his audience and leave them in suspense. Throughout Oliver Twist,...