All the Year Round

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All the Year Round was a British weekly literary magazine founded and owned by Charles Dickens. It ran from 1859 to 1895 across the United Kingdom and was the successor to his previous magazine, Household Words, after a dispute with the old publisher.

The first issue appeared on 30 April 1859 and included the early chapters of Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. A month later, Dickens won a lawsuit against his former publishers and regained the Household Words name. Household Words ended soon after and merged into All the Year Round, which carried the full title: All the Year Round. A Weekly Journal Conducted by Charles Dickens. With Which Is Incorporated Household Words.

All the Year Round mixed fiction and non-fiction but focused more on literature and culture than everyday journalism. It published crime tales, new ideas in science (including Darwin), stories of explorers and inventors, and self-help pieces. After 1863 Dickens began to step back from day-to-day editing, though he still revised much of the copy as he toured for public readings.

In late 1868 Dickens announced a New Series of All the Year Round to start after the current volume, mainly to improve the magazine’s format. He had already named his son, Charles Dickens Jr., as owner and editor. After Dickens’s death in 1870, Jr. ran the magazine (with a quarter-share owned by editor William Henry Wills) until it ended in 1895. A Third Series began in 1889, with contributions from Mary Dickens.

All the Year Round ended with its final issue on 30 March 1895, after three series. Each volume had 26 issues, half a year, though extra annuals added more numbers. The magazine published many famous serials and other pieces, most of which appeared anonymously, with the editor shown on the front page as Conducted by Charles Dickens.

Scholars have tried to identify who wrote what, and in 2015 a researcher announced the discovery of Dickens’s annotated set naming contributors. A full guide to the publication has been planned.