Synopses & Reviews
Charles Dickens is without doubt a literary giant. The most widely read author of his own generation, his works remain incredibly popular and important today. Often seen as the quintessential Victorian novelist, his texts convey perhaps better than any others the drive for wealth and progress and the social contrasts that characterised the Victorian era. His works are widely studied throughout the world both as literary masterpieces and as classic examples of the nineteenth century novel. Combining a biographical approach with close reading of the novels, Donald Hawes offers an illuminating portrait of Dickens as a writer and insight into his life and times. This book will provide a short, lively but sophisticated introduction to Dickens's work and the personal and social context in which it was written.
Synopsis
Charles Dickens is without doubt a literary giant. The most widely read author of his own generation, his works remain incredibly popular and important today. Often seen as the quintessential Victorian novelist, his texts convey perhaps better than any others the drive for wealth and progress and the social contrasts that characterised the Victorian era. His works are widely studied throughout the world both as literary masterpieces and as classic examples of the nineteenth century novel. Combining a biographical approach with close reading of the novels, Donald Hawes offers an illuminating portrait of Dickens as a writer and insight into his life and times. This book will provide a short, lively but sophisticated introduction to Dickens's work and the personal and social context in which it was written.
Table of Contents
Abbreviations and ReferencesIntroduction1. Why We Read Dickens2. Life of Dickens3.
Sketches by Boz, Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist4. Dickens's London5. Social Class in Victorian England6.
Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop, Barnaby Rudge7. Prison and Crime8. Dickens and Education9. Medicine, Doctors, Nurses and Hospitals 10.
Martin Chuzzlewit, A Christmas Carol, Dombey and Son11. Women and Children in Dickens 12. Dickens and Animals13.
David Copperfield, Bleak House14. Dickens's Comic Characters and Villains15.
Hard Times, Little Dorrit, A Tale of Two Cities 16. Theatre and Entertainment 17. Christmas Stories18. Dickens's Public Readings19. Dickens's Friends and Contemporaries20.
Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend, The Mystery of Edwin Drood21. Adaptations and Versions of Dickens's WritingsIndex