A House to Let facts for kids
A House to Let is a short story written by four famous authors: Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Adelaide Anne Procter. It was first published in 1858 as part of the Christmas edition of Dickens's magazine, Household Words. Wilkie Collins wrote the introduction and worked with Dickens on the second part of the story and its ending. Elizabeth Gaskell and Adelaide Anne Procter wrote the other parts.
About 'A House to Let'
This story was the first time these four writers worked together. However, Collins and Dickens had already collaborated with Procter on earlier Christmas stories for the same magazine in 1854, 1855, and 1856. The four authors would later team up again in 1859 for "The Haunted House." This story appeared in the special Christmas issue of All the Year Round, which was a new magazine Dickens started after some disagreements with his previous publishers.
In a letter from September 1858, Charles Dickens shared his idea for a Christmas story with Wilkie Collins. He first thought only he and Collins would write it. Collins would help develop Dickens's plot ideas. But later, Dickens invited Gaskell and Procter to write some chapters too.
Dickens and Collins wrote the first chapter, called "Over the Way," and the last chapter, "Let at Last," together. Each of the other authors wrote one chapter in between:
- Elizabeth Gaskell wrote "The Manchester Marriage."
- Charles Dickens wrote "Going into Society."
- Adelaide Anne Procter wrote "Three Evenings in the House."
- Wilkie Collins wrote "Trottle's Report."
The story is about an old woman named Sophonisba. She notices strange things happening in a supposedly empty, old house across the street from her home. This house is the "House to Let" mentioned in the title. Sophonisba asks an old friend, Jabez Jarber, and her servant, Trottle, to help her find out what is going on inside the mysterious house.
Radio Show Adaptations
"A House to Let" was turned into a radio play. It was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 over five days, from December 11 to 15, 2006. The radio play was repeated several times on BBC Radio 4 Extra. These repeats happened in December 2011, December 2014, December 2016, and again in December 2018.
See also
In Spanish: Una casa en alquiler para niños
