Synopses & Reviews
Charles Dickens is one of the most widely read authors in English literature. This
Companion, comprising essays written by leading Dickensian scholars from around the world, places Dickens’s writings in their literary and historical contexts and offers the factual and referential knowledge to enable readers to approach his works with insight and understanding.
Through Dickens’s letters, journalism, and fiction, chapters examine the literary, visual, historical, ideological, and social forces that defined the world of his fiction. Individual essays explore a broad range of topics, including the role of illustrations in his novels, the literary tradition Dickens inherited, his unique facility with language, his uses of history and the extent to which Christian assumptions shaped him as a writer. Other contributions assess his attitude towards technology, the United States, law, gender, and political and social reform, while essays treating biographical matters and surveying Dickens criticism complete the volume. This unique Companionwill help readers better understand Dickens’s work and will be an invaluable resource for students and professionals alike.
Review
'“A handy … reference book for a graduate course on Dickens or more advanced studies, this Companion is indeed companionable. Organized both logically and comprehensively, the book is divided into five categories. In short, this Companion inspires one to go back and read all of Dickens’s novels again.” English Literature in Transition'
Review
“Pykett’s chapter is preceded by a rewarding chapter on the literary culture of the day by Michael Hollington and followed by the final essay on ‘Postcolonial Dickens’. As if to insist that any competition in the Dickens Companion industry is essentially good-natured, John O. Jordan has contributed this, rather wonderful, last word to close the book.” (
Oxford Journal Clippings, 1 November 2012)
"Several of these pieces should be indispensable reading for undergraduates... Each of the three Companions to Charles Dickens now available is a valuable resource for students, but Paroissien's is certainly the richest, and-- with simultaneous electronic publication- likely to be of most immediate and beneficial assistance to students." (Notes and Queries, March 2010) "It is difficult to overstate the importance of A Companion to Charles Dickens. The whole provides a rich seam of knowledge, placing Charles Dickens' writings in their literary and historical contexts, a serious work of scholarship. A copy should be placed in every library, whether public, college or academic. Not only is it an invaluable and multifaceted resource for students, teachers and scholars of Dickens, it is a cornucopia of delight for everyone who loves to read Dickens for pleasure alone." (Reference Reviews, Issue 8 2008)
“This is an excellent book, to read with intellectual profit, stimulation, and pleasure. Distinctive in its own right in permitting long essays on a wide range of Dickensian topics. Volumes with a particular outwards-facing intention and stylistic accessibility such as this one, with their imagined audiences that include undergraduates and general readers as well as scholars, show it with clarity. A welcome and valuable book, an engaging collection to read, and a volume worthy of its subject.” (Dickens Quarterly, September 2008)
“Students of Dickens will find this handbook useful. In particular, the entries on the individual novels take the reader to the most important issues. Recommended.” (Choice, November 2008)
“A handy … reference book for a graduate course on Dickens or more advanced studies, this Companion is indeed companionable. Organized both logically and comprehensively, the book is divided into five categories. In short, this Companion inspires one to go back and read all of Dickens’s novels again.” (English Literature in Transition)
Review
"Several of these pieces should be indispensable reading for undergraduates... Each of the three Companions to Charles Dickens now available is a valuable resource for students, but Paroissien's is certainly the richest, and-- with simultaneous electronic publication- likely to be of most immediate and beneficial assistance to students." (
Notes and Queries, March 2010)"It is difficult to overstate the importance of
A Companion to Charles Dickens. The whole provides a rich seam of knowledge, placing Charles Dickens' writings in their literary and historical contexts, a serious work of scholarship. A copy should be placed in every library, whether public, college or academic. Not only is it an invaluable and multifaceted resource for students, teachers and scholars of Dickens, it is a cornucopia of delight for everyone who loves to read Dickens for pleasure alone." (
Reference Reviews, Issue 8 2008)
“This is an excellent book, to read with intellectual profit, stimulation, and pleasure. Distinctive in its own right in permitting long essays on a wide range of Dickensian topics. Volumes with a particular outwards-facing intention and stylistic accessibility such as this one, with their imagined audiences that include undergraduates and general readers as well as scholars, show it with clarity. A welcome and valuable book, an engaging collection to read, and a volume worthy of its subject.” (Dickens Quarterly, September 2008)
“Students of Dickens will find this handbook useful. In particular, the entries on the individual novels take the reader to the most important issues. Recommended.” (Choice, November 2008)
“A handy … reference book for a graduate course on Dickens or more advanced studies, this Companion is indeed companionable. Organized both logically and comprehensively, the book is divided into five categories. In short, this Companion inspires one to go back and read all of Dickens’s novels again.” (English Literature in Transition)
Synopsis
Charles Dickens is one of the most widely read authors in English literature. This companion, comprising essays written by leading Dickensian scholars from around the world, places Dickens’s writings in their literary and historical contexts and offers the factual and referential knowledge to enable readers to approach his works with insight and understanding.
Through Dickens’s letters, journalism, and fiction, chapters examine the literary, visual, historical, ideological, and social forces that defined the world of his fiction. Individual essays explore a broad range of topics, including the role of illustrations in his novels, the literary tradition Dickens inherited, his unique facility with language, his uses of history and the extent to which Christian assumptions shaped him as a writer. Other contributions assess his attitude towards technology, the United States, law, gender, and political and social reform, while essays treating biographical matters and surveying Dickens criticism complete the volume. This unique companion will help readers better understand Dickens’s work and will be an invaluable resource for students and professionals alike.
Synopsis
A Companion to Charles Dickens concentrates on the historical, ideological, and social forces that defined Dickens’s world.
- Puts Dickens’s work into its literary, historical, and social contexts
- Traces the development of Dickens’s career as a journalist and novelist
- Includes original essays by leading Dickensian scholars on each of Dickens’s fifteen novels
- Explores a broad range of topics, including criticisms of his novels, the use of history and law in his fiction, language, and the effect of political and social reform
- Examines Dickens's legacy and surveys the mass of secondary materials that has been generated in response and reverence to his writing
About the Author
David Paroissien is Emeritus Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Buckingham. He edits Dickens Quarterly and co-edits, with Susan Shatto, the Dickens Companions series. He is the author of The Companion to Oliver Twist (1992), The Companion to Great Expectations (2000), and has edited The Mystery of Edwin Drood for Penguin (2002).
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations viii
Notes on Contributors ix
Preface xiv
Acknowledgments xvi
Abbreviations xvii
Part I Perspectives on the Life 1
1 A Sketch of the Life 3
Michael Allen
2 Dickens's Use of the Autobiographical Fragment 18
Nicola Bradbury
3 "Faithfully Yours, Charles Dickens": The Epistolary Art of the Inimitable 33
David Paroissien
4 Three Major Biographies 47
Catherine Peters
Part II Literary/Cultural Contexts 63
5 The Eighteenth-century Legacy 65
Monika Fludernik
6 Dickens and the Gothic 81
Robert Mighall
7 Illustrations 97
Malcolm Andrews
8 The Language of Dickens 126
Patricia Ingham
9 The Novels and Popular Culture 142
Juliet John
Part III English History Contexts 157
10 Dickens as a Reformer 159
Hugh Cunningham
11 Dickens's Evolution as a Journalist 174
John M. L. Drew
12 Dickens and Gender 186
Natalie McKnight
13 Dickens and Technology 199
Trey Philpotts
14 Dickens and America (1842) 216
Nancy Aycock Metz
15 Dickens and Government Ineptitude Abroad, 1854–1865 228
Leslie Mitchell
16 Dickens and the Uses of History 240
John Gardiner
17 Dickens and Christianity 255
Valentine Cunningham
18 Dickens and the Law 277
Jan-Melissa Schramm
Part IV The Fiction 295
19 The Pickwick Papers 297
David Parker
20 Oliver Twist 308
Brian Cheadle
21 Nicholas Nickleby 318
Stanley Friedman
22 The Old Curiosity Shop 328
Gill Ballinger
23 Barnaby Rudge 338
Jon Mee
24 Martin Chuzzlewit 348
Goldie Morgentaler
25 Dombey and Son 358
Brigid Lowe
26 David Copperfield 369
Gareth Cordery
27 Bleak House 380
Robert Tracy
28 Hard Times 390
Anne Humpherys
29 Little Dorrit 401
Philip Davis
30 A Tale of Two Cities 412
Paul Davis
31 Great Expectations 422
Andrew Sanders
32 Our Mutual Friend 433
Leon Litvack
33 The Mystery of Edwin Drood 444
Simon J. James
Part V Reputation and Influence 453
34 Dickens and the Literary Culture of the Period 455
Michael Hollington
35 Dickens and Criticism 470
Lyn Pykett
36 Postcolonial Dickens 486
John O. Jordan
Index 501