The Dickensian aspect of Ogden's 1846 serial The Wire
After The Simpsons, The Wire might just be the most essayed-upon television show of our time, with Internet scribes constantly prodding the corpse of the dearly departed HBO show in hopes of uncovering a new, pageview-boosting insight or theory. Yet somehow in all those iGallons of e-ink, no one has written about the true origins of the much-lauded series… until now. Joy Delyria and Sean Michael Robinson’s essay “When It’s Not Your Turn: The Quintessentially Victorian Vision of Ogden’s The Wire” delves into the long-forgotten work of Horatio Bucklesby Ogden, whose 60-part serial The Wire was overshadowed in its time by the works of his contemporary, Charles Dickens:
The Wire began syndication in 1846, and was published in 60 installments over the course of six years. Each installment was 30 pages, featuring covers and illustrations by Baxter “Bubz” Black, and selling for one shilling each. After the final installment, The Wire became available in a five volume set, departing from the traditional three.