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,...

As mentioned on the timeline, the 1839 Act on Custody of Infants enabled mothers to petition for custody of their children up to the age of seven. Before this parliamentary act, fathers were always given custody of their children. This has interesting implications in relation to Charles Dickens Oliver Twist, the last installment of which was published just three months before the bill was enacted. 

While it is interesting to consider the legal implications of Oliver's various adoptions throughout the novel (particularly how at the end of the book he ends up in the custody of Mr. Brownlow instead of Mrs. Maylie), I think it is even more worthwhile to consider how the novel and the act represent the time period's view of womanhood and motherhood. The 1839 Act on Custody of Infants is often considered the start of what is known as the "Tender Years" doctrine, which essentially states that in a child's earlier (tender) years it is best for the child to be in the custody...

Whitechapel was a working class neighborhood in East London.