Making It Fit: The Appropriation of Poe in Boy's Own Magazine Available to Purchase

The essay examines how short stories and the beginning of The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym were changed for the inclusion in the first three volumes of Samuel Beeton's Boy's Own Magazine (1855–57), and is hence a contribution to the study of the early reception of Poe's fiction in Britain. It is argued that the changes reflect Beeton's editorial policy of providing “healthy” and useful reading for boys. Hence, some texts were selected for their didactic value, others were edited for greater propriety. This editorial policy becomes particularly clear in the case of “Pym's Narrative,” with regard to alcohol, violence and “horror.”