When you hear the phrase, 'English Classics' isn't he the man whose name you're most likely to find on the tip of your tongue first? A prolific genius who kept churning out massive tomes long before the age of computers, Charles Dickens' characters are legends and his stories and themes are immortal.
Our concept of the Victorian era is largely thanks to his first hand accounts. He probably helped craft Christmas celebrations as we know them, and his huge heart for social justice has been opening oblivious eyes for centuries.
The thing is, he's not the easiest writer to read in the 21st century. It's not just the commitment his books take because of their size. The density of his paragraphs sometimes take time to unpack, and don't necessarily flow in the modern sense of the word. Still, I've tested enough of them to know it's well worth the effort.
If we're willing to let him, Dickens draws us into his world of wonderful bromances, poor little orphan boys, blindly loyal daughters, awesomely coincidental encounters and plenty of London fog. This page will hopefully serve the purpose of spurring me on to read more myself, as well as encouraging other readers with this blend of thoughts, chats, reviews and more.
Overall, I agree with Amor Towles' character, Katey Kontent.
She says: 'Admittedly there's something a little annoying about all those plucky underprivileged kids and the aptly named agents of villainy. But I've come to realize that however blue my circumstances, if after finishing a chapter of a Dickens novel I feel a miss-my-stop-on-the-train sort of compulsion to read on, then everything is probably going to be just fine.'
Next up will be Barnaby Rudge
Other Posts of Interest
The Bad Boys of David Copperfield (a discussion)
Sam Weller - a forgotten hero from the mid nineteenth century
Pip Pirrip - Why we love this flawed hero
Did Dickens write the first 'Choose your own Adventure' novel?
Fascinating Classics with Ambiguous Endings
The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep (a fun novel featuring Dickens characters who are brought to life in the 21st century)
Demon Copperhead (Barbara Kingsolver's wonderful, award-winning rewriting of David Copperfield)
I'm a Dickens fan. Of course I can only confess to having read great expectations, but I have watched most of his works as a BBCTV series. He is a master of character development.
ReplyDeleteHi Meredith, so true ❤️ And I think GE is one of his most reader-friendly books (along with A Christmas Carol). Tragic that he passed in his fifties, with still so much left to give.
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