Household Words

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Household Words was a weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens which took its name from the line from Shakespeare "Familiar in his mouth as household words"—Henry V. It was published between 1850 and 1859. In 1859, owing to a dispute between Dickens and the publishers it was replaced by All the Year Round in which he had greater control.

The journal contained a mixture of fiction and nonfiction. A large amount of the non-fiction dealt with the social issues of the time.

A number of prominent novels were serialized in Household Words including,

• Hard Times by Charles Dickens
• Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
• The Song of the Western Men by Robert Stephen Hawker
• North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Other contributors to Household Words included Adelaide Anne Procter (under the name "Mary Berwick") and James Payn.