We propose to read one of Dickens' less famous novels, Martin Chuzzlewit, as it was published, exactly 170 years after the fact: Dickens started publishing this novel in January 1843; we will start reading it this January. Dickens published the novel over 18 months; we will be reading it over 18 months.

And we want you to join us (you must at this point imagine me wearing a star spangled top hat and pointing intently at you).

This is what will happen: Once a month, like a pleasant, albeit expected, surprise, a fairly large .pdf file (the first one will be 19mb) will appear in your inbox. It is large because it contains a beautiful facsimile of the original parts from 1843 (and later 1844), complete with the traditional green wrappers (which was a staple of Dickens' early publications, and which he returned to in his final books), and the nutty Victorian advertisements we know and love. You will then read about 3 chapters a month (no cheating by buying the book and finishing it ahead of time) over the next year and a half.

How can you resist?

Send me an e-mail, and I'll add you to the list.