More light on the serial publication of tess of the D'urbervilles

This brief article reports new information concerning the serial publication of Tess of the D'Urbervilles. It shows that it appeared as a serial in the provincial press in not only the Nottinghamshire Guardian but also the Birmingham Weekly Post, both appearances being arranged by the literary agent A. P. Watt, acting on behalf of the London Graphic. This discovery sheds light on the content of the text submitted by Hardy to the Graphic in October 1890. The article also discusses the practice of publishing a new work of fiction in instalments at the same time in both a metropolitan periodical distributed nationwide and a number of provincial journals with distinct regional circulations. This is shown to be an important but largely overlooked development in later Victorian publishing history.