News Tip: Serialized Novels Not New, But Audience Is
The practice of serializing novels was popular in the 19th century, but today's audience is much different from the "serving girls and factory boys" who read the earlier works, says Cathy Davidson
Thursday, July 22, 2004
The practice of serializing novels -- as The New York Times has begun doing this week -- was popular in the 19th century, but today's audience is much different from the "serving girls and factory boys" who read the earlier works, says a Duke University English professor.
The New York Times is serializing several novels, beginning with "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald this week. Future offerings include "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Truman Capote and "The Color of Water" by James McBride.
In the 19th century, both the novel and newspapers were seen as lesser and even degraded poular forms that were read by the middle and working classes, said Cathy N. Davidson, Ruth F. Devarney Professor of English and vice provost for interdisciplinary studies.
"We know that many elite readers also read popular serialized books in the 19th century," Davidson said. "What is different now is the assumption that the readers of these serialized novels will only be elite."
"The novel was the video game, the television, the radio of the day. Some were published inexpensively in what were called 'story papers' or 'penny papers,'" she said. "Novels and newspapers were seen as popular forms of entertainment that diluted the interest in the serious: the Bible, the essay or the poem."
"Now it's the opposite. Those people who read books are considered to be more elite than those who get their information from other sources," she said. "If you're publishing 'The Great Gatsby' in The New York Times, you're assuming it's an elite, niche market."
One thing remains the same, however: The appeal for advertisers. A serial keeps readers coming back to find out the next installment of the story, she said.
"And that's great for advertisers."
Davidson is the author of "Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the Novel in America," about the role of mass literacy, education and the novel in the creation of the American nation. The book is being reissued this summer by Oxford University Press.
