Christopher Hapka writes (on October 31, 2004): I've set up a web site that I thought might be an interesting addition to your links page. It's called "Mousehold Words," and is located at: http://www.hapka.com/mousehold/.
At the site, you can sign up to receive a few Victorian and later serial novels via email. You can choose to be emailed a section of the novel, divided according to the original serial divisions, each month, each week, or more frequently. There is no charge, I do not collect email addresses or personal information, and there is no advertising (except for a single text link to Amazon.com which you receive with the last email of your subscription). When I first set up this system for my personal use, I thought it was an interesting way of reminding myself just how different an experience it is to read a novel in serial form than in volume form, especially with a month between sections (and especially as most modern editions do not even indicate the original serial divisions). I hope you find it interesting as well.
Currently available novels are:
- Wilkie Collins, No Name
- Charles Dickens, Bleak House
- Alexandre Dumas (pere), The Three Musketeers
- Charlotte Perkins Gilman, What Diantha Did
- Charles Reade, A Perilous Secret
- Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
I plan to add additional novels, including works by Thackeray, Gaskell, Bulwer-Lytton, and Trollope, as my free time permits.
Mousehold Words is a volunteer service, which emails you a section or chapter of a serial novel periodically, on a schedule you choose. There is no charge, no advertisement, and Mousehold Words will not sell or disclose your email address.
Last modified 2 November 2004