The novel as a literary form was still developing ,so Dickens followed the eighteenth-century tradition that favored long, rambling tales, freely embellished with uplifting attributes. In addition, the form of Dickens's books was partially dictated by the needs of serial publication. Serialization prescribed an episodic structure rather than a tightly contrived plot conveyed by a dexterously linked story. Each installment needed to be in some degree an independent entity with its own center of interest, while at the same time leading up to a height of suspense in anticipation of the next issue.
For Dickens, this episodic format meant that he was often writing the installments of a particular novel to keep up with the publication schedule of a magazine, sometimes barely keeping ahead of the typesetters. He had no opportunity for revising and polishing his efforts after a novel was finished, and a work might never be planned as a whole. The author sometimes knew no better than his readers what was to happen next. On November 3, 1837, writing about Oliver Twist, Dickens observed to his friend and biographer, John Forster: "I hope to do great things with Nancy. If I can only work out the idea I have formed of her, and of the female who is to contrast with her. . . ." In September 1838, when the novel was almost completed, he confided to Forster that he had not yet "disposed of the Jew Fagin, who is such an out and outer that I don't know what to make of him." In that same work, the author had intended to have Rose Maylie die, but he later rejected the opportunity for a pathetic scene and allowed her to recover.
Whatever imperfections Dickens's writing may contain, his extraordinary popularity can leave no doubt that he was the reigning literary figure of his day. His works represented the blending of his genius with a tradition he inherited from the times in which he lived. In spite of his occasional grouchiness, Dickens supported the best of which Victorian England was capable. And each succeeding generation has affirmed the original judgment by paying homage to the generosity of his spirit and the immensity of his creative achievement.
