''Master Humphrey's Clock'' was a weekly periodical edited and written entirely by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

and published from 4 April 1840 to 4 December 1841. It began with a frame story in which Master Humphrey tells about himself and his small circle of friends (which includes Mr. Pickwick), and their penchant for telling stories. Several short stories were included, followed by the novels ''

The Old Curiosity Shop ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is one of two novels (the other being ''Barnaby Rudge'') which Charles Dickens published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', from 1840 to 1841. It was so popular that New York r ...

'' and ''

Barnaby Rudge ''Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty'' (commonly known as ''Barnaby Rudge'') is a historical novel by British novelist Charles Dickens. ''Barnaby Rudge'' was one of two novels (the other was ''The Old Curiosity Shop'') that Dickens publ ...

''. It is generally thought that Dickens originally intended ''

'' as a short story like the others that had appeared in ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', but after a few chapters decided to extend it into a novel. Master Humphrey appears as the first-person narrator in the first three chapters of ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' but then disappears, stating, "And now that I have carried this history so far in my own character and introduced these personages to the reader, I shall for the convenience of the narrative detach myself from its further course, and leave those who have prominent and necessary parts in it to speak and act for themselves." Master Humphrey is a lonely man who lives in London. He keeps old manuscripts in an antique

longcase clock A grandfather clock (also a longcase clock, tall-case clock, grandfather's clock, or floor clock) is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are common ...

by the chimney-corner. One day, he decides that he would start a little club, called Master Humphrey's Clock, where the members would read out their manuscripts to the others. The members include Master Humphrey; a deaf gentleman; Jack Redburn; retired merchant Owen Miles; and Mr. Pickwick from ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with '' Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to ...

''. A mirror club in the kitchen, ''Mr. Weller's Watch'', run by Mr. Weller, has members including Humphrey's maid, the barber and Sam Weller. ''Master Humphrey's Clock'' appeared after ''

'', to introduce ''

''. After ''Barnaby Rudge'', Master Humphrey is left by himself by the chimney corner in a train of thoughts. Here, the deaf gentleman continues the narration. Later, the deaf gentleman and his friends return to Humphrey's house to find him dead. Humphrey has left money for the barber and the maid (no doubt by traces of love that they would be married). Redburn and the deaf gentleman look after the house and the club closes for good. In the portion of ''Master Humphrey's Clock'' which succeeds ''The Old Curiosity Shop'', Master Humphrey reveals to his friends that he is the character referred to as the 'single gentleman' in that story.

Story order

''Master Humphrey's Clock'' was a weekly serial that contained both short stories and two novels (''The Old Curiosity Shop'' and ''Barnaby Rudge''). Some of the short stories act as frame stories to the novels so the ordering of publication is important. Although Dickens's original artistic intent was to keep the short stories and the novels together, he himself cancelled ''Master Humphrey's Clock'' before 1848, and described in a preface to ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' that he wished the story to not be tied down to the miscellany it began within.Charles Dickens - Preface to ''The Old Curiosity Shop'', 1848 Cheap Edition Most later anthologies published the short stories and the novels separately. However, the short stories and the novels were published in 1840 in three bound volumes under the title ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', which retains the full and correct ordering of texts as they originally appeared. The illustrations in these volumes were by

George Cattermole George Cattermole (10 August 180024 July 1868) was a British painter and illustrator, chiefly in watercolours. He was a friend of Charles Dickens and many other literary and artistic figures. Life and work He was born at Dickleburgh, near ...

and

Hablot Browne Hablot Knight Browne (10 July 1815 – 8 July 1882) was an English artist and illustrator. Well-known by his pen name, Phiz, he illustrated books by Charles Dickens, Charles Lever, and Harrison Ainsworth. Early life Of Huguenot ancestry, Hablot ...

, better known as "Phiz".

External links

''Master Humphrey's Clock''
available at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. 3-volume original bound edition, illustrated. Includes all the stories in their published order.
Project Gutenberg etext
of the frame story and short stories (the novels are in separate etexts) *
G. K. Chesterton's discussion of ''Master Humphrey's Clock''
in ''Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens''

by Michael Steig at

Victorian Web The Victorian Web is a hypertext project derived from hypermedia environments, Intermedia and Storyspace, that anticipated the World Wide Web. Initially created between 1988 and 1990 with 1,500 documents, it grew to 50,000 in the 21st century. In c ...

– an article on Dickens's collaboration with his illustrators during this period.

References

{{Charles Dickens 1840 establishments in the United Kingdom 1841 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Chapman & Hall books Defunct literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Literature about deaf people Magazines established in 1840 Magazines disestablished in 1841 Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Works by Charles Dickens