Our Mutual Friend (Oxford World's Classics). Cet article n’est pas disponible.Our Mutual Friend (Oxford World's Classics)

Dickens' last completed novel traces John Harmon's covert observation of Bella Wilfer, whom he must marry if he is to inherit a fortune.

Although tlie title of this book was settled in 1861, the publication of the first number did not take place until three years afterwards. The intermediate time A vas filled up with editorial duties on All the Year Round; with the second round of public Readings; with the production of many papers of the TJ yicommercial Traveller series; and with intermittent work on the new story itself, which appears to have progressed but slowly, and to have cost its author no small amount of pains and trouble. His intention had been to begin to publish in 1862, but in A pril of that year he had to write, A las! I have hit upon nothing for a story. A gain and again I have tried.- No greater amount of success seems to have attended his efforts for several months, and it was not until A ugust, 1863, that he was able to report himself as being full of notions for the new twenty numbers. A few weeks later he wrote from Gadshill, I came here last night to evade my usual day in the week in fact to shirk it and get back to Gads for five or six consecutive days. My reason is, that I am exceedingly anxious to begin my book. Im bent upon getting to work at it. I want to prepare it for the spring; but I am determined not to begin to publish with less than five numbers done. I see my opening perfectly, with the one main line on which the story is to turn; and if I dont strike while the iron (meaning myself) is hot, I shall drift off again, and have to go through all this uneasiness once more. Vigorous striking of the iron while it was hot resulted in the production of about three numbers in four months, but Charles Dickens would not be satisfied until he had in hand those five numbers which he had determined to hold in stock, so to speak, before making a start with the publication of the book. If I were to lose, he wrote in March, a page of the five numbers I have proposed to myself
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)