Charles Dickens Books

Dover's 'Classic Mystery Stories' edited by Douglas G. Greene contains the following 13 short stories:

The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe
Three "Detective" Anecdites by Charles Dickens
The Biter Bit by Wilkie Collins
A Singular Abduction by Rodrigues Ottolengui
The Leopaard Man's Story by Jack London
The Phantom Motor by Jacques Futrelle
The Million-Dollar Dog by Samuel Hopkins Adams
The Bag of Sand by Baroness Orczy
The Denton Boudoir Mystery by Gelett Burgess
Naboth's Vineyard by Melville Davisson Post
A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell
The Ordinary Hairpins by E. C. Bentley
The Archduke's Tea by H. C. Bailey

One of the characteristics of the collection is its way of selecting the pieces. The book's selection, it is suggested, is compiled on the strength of the sleuths they depict. The result is a curious mixture of well-known classic stories and very obscure tales.

The book begins with Poe's classic, one of the most famous detective stories in the world. Then, comes Dickens' journalistic work (published in his own magazine) about the accounts told by the three police detectives who recounts their strange experiences during their jobs. Next comes Collins' comic short (written in his trademark epistle style).

I don't intend to give too mcuh information here, but let me say a little bit more. Post's story features Uncle Abner (very American) while Bailey's Reggie Fortune (very English). The contrast of their method of 'solution' is interesting, but you might have already read either, or both of them. Orczy's is about a lady detective (and narrated by anoher female), but fails to fully capitalize on the gender role. Maybe she will be remembered better as the creator of 'The Man in the Corner.' Bentley's tale here is about sleuth/painter Philip Trent. But of course, Trent was once unwittingly involved in half-jokingly titled 'Trent's Last Case' which is actually Trent's first, and best case.

As I explained so far, though I do not question the qualities of the tales themselves, this book has a very inconsistent tone. On the one hand you have Susan Glaspell's story, which sounds more like a feminism writer's drama (maybe it is), in which a murder per se is not the real concern of some characters (and the author). On the other, you get Jacque Futrelle's superhuman The Thinking Machine, who solves a 100 % pure puzzle (Do you believe in the story of a car that virtually vanishes like that???).

Though I enjoyed reading this book, I kept thinking -- Who are the target readers of the book? So I suggest that you read the content of the book above before buying. Several of the tales here are easily available elsewhere, or probably you have already read them. And the book has no notes, and the biographical commentary about each writer is adequate but thin.

I was disappointed with this product (although I have had occasion to use similar versions of other texts before and I'm sure it is excellent) because I had not realised that I had purchased an abridged version - and I needed the whole unabridged book.

As it was a very slim volume and I had opened the parcel (it was loose and packed with another book), I decided not to attempt to return it (it may be useful, in the future, for a student who is struggling). I have been able to obtain another copy locally.

"Dickens on Screen" is a miscellanious collection of writings about the film/TV adaptations of Dickens, of which contents go as below:

INTRODUCTION: John Glavin
PART I
1 "Dickens, Psycoanalysis and film: a roundtable": Gerhard Joseph
PART II
2 "David Copperfield' home video": John Bowen
3 "David Lean's 'Great Expectations'": Regina Barreca
4 "'Great Expectations' on Aurtralian television": John O. Jordan
5 "Dickens' 'The Signalman' and Rubini's 'La Stazione'": Alesandro Vescovi
6 "Bill Murray's Christmas Carol": Murray Baumgarten
7 "Screen memories in Dickens and Woody Allen": Robert M. Polhemus
PART III
8 "Writing after Dickens: the television writer's art": John Romano
9 "Directing Dickens: Alfonso Cuaron's 1998 'Great Expectations'": Pam Katz
10 "Playing Dickens": Miriam Margoyles
PART IV
11 "Cinematic Dickens and uncinematic words": Kamilla Elliott
12 "Dickens, Eisenstein, film": Garrett Stewart
13 "Orson Wells and Charles Dickens 1938-1941": Marguerite Rippy
14 "'David Copperfield (1935)' and the US curriculum": Steve J. Wurtzler
15 "Dickens, Selznick, and 'Southpark'": Jeffrey Sconce
16 "Tiny Tim on screen: a diabilities perspective": Martin F. Norden
PART V "Dickens composed: film and television adaptations 1987-2001": Kate Charnell Watt and Kate Lonsdale

Because of the space, I do not write here any in-depth summery of each writing. I only add that:
1) PART I is a record of conversations by the people from three fields (film, Dickens, psychoanalysis), including contributors, done after their watching the clip of Lean's "Oliver Twist."
2) PART 2 and 4 cover the various topics about Dickens and films. The titles are, however, sometimes misleading (# 6 essay is actually not about this talented American actor). The final results vary from impressive to mediocre (the fate of any kind of essay collection). Some are quite insightful, but I am afraid some others indulge in academic theries (call it a sea of jargon). See the title, pick it, and give it a chance.

PART 3 is most interesting (to me), but, alas! not so long. In # 9 Pam Katz tells us the inside story of how Cuaron's modernized version came to be what it is now, with several comments from the director himself. It is quite fascinating to know that Ms Paltrow's Estella was supposed to have a job (what was it? Read and find it.) And the interview with the great Margoyles is not to be missed, who gives a quite frank (and often funny) accounts of her visions about Dickensian world, and her works (she is famous for playing one Dickensian character on stage, and you know who).

The last PART 5 is a filmography, but sadly, it is not perfect. I do not lament the loss of "Ms. Scrooge" ("A Chrismas Carol" of PC era). But I was shocked to see they omit 1922 Jackie Coogan version of "Oliver Twist" from the list when they use one of its stills on the book jacket! This must be remedied right now. And unaccountably, while # 16 essay refers to the 1935 version "Scrooge," the filmography again forget to record it. And please remember, the 1997 verions of "Oliver" stars Elijah Wood, one of the stars of "LOTR." (Haven't they seen this fantastic trilogy yet?) Michael Pointer's superb filmography (or IMDB) is still indispensable.

The collection, to me, lacks the central topic, or pivot on which the whole book should be constructed, being too miscellanious. Some part are great, I am sure, but I still do not know why they made this collection. Maybe my lukewarm reaction reflects the difficulty of writing about the two types of media -- book and film -- at the same time.

Pictures of Dickens' London interspersed with lengthy quotations from his books, essays, and newspaper reporting. The pictures were the compelling part, and there should have been more of them, along with more concise directed quotation.

Then again, this was not intended as a scholarly treatise on Dickens' use of London as a setting for his novels. But it could have filled that role with a bit more effort.

See my review of Ackroyd's London: The Biography

Charles Dickens is an Amazing man after you read this book. This book told you all about Charles Dickens, his life growing up, his achievements, and the sacrifices he had to make. In this book Charles Dickens starts as a little boy working and wanting, hoping, that his parents will let him go to school. After this incident where we are introduced he has encounters with his father, mother, and sister, who make him want to go to school out of fear that he will end up like them. Charles then decides that he will go to school and make a life. The rest of the book is about his journey through becoming a man, the good and the hard times, and the life he intends to lead.

The author, Elisabeth Kyle, is a great writer. She told the story of Charles Dickens in a way that just seemed to sweep you up into the past as though you were living in that time and just watching Charles. There were slow moments where I thought that it could have gone faster, but they told me what was happening so i would know what was going on.
I think that this was a great book and that anyone who wants to know the hard and good times Charles Dickens went through i would read this book.

The story is one of those feminist renditions of history where where Nelly Ternan, Dickens' kept woman, is made into a great love of Dicken's life with some, albeit little, effect on his fiction. Unfortunately the Ternan connection does not work well, and only shows that while everything had an effect on CD. no one can claim to be The effect. As for Nelly, she is a nice woman who history passed by. While she may not have had the effect on Dickens that Tomalin hoped for, her story is interesting because she was an actress and her story shows how Victoriana treated them and more importantly how entertainers lived on the edge of society then (and now in the midst of it as now). It is also of somewhat sad that nothing of her letters to CD and his to hers reamin, and a sad note that whatever she learned of CD is lost to time. BTW, Kate Redding does another good job reading. It's a slow book but feminists may be interested; traditionalists would not.

this story keeps you in suspence all the way through!it was written a long time ago and therfore some of the english is difficult to understand.it is a shame it was not longer.the ending is very interesting and clever.i very much enjoyed this story.

The pages are very choppy and uneven. Better off just getting a paperback if you need the book, or investing in a better quality hardcover

For lovers of Dickens and those who wish to know more about the alleged affair between Ellen Ternan and Charles Dickens, you will fair far better bypassing Rackham's, The Rag and Bone Shop and sticking with non-fiction. I have given this work one star because anything less is unavailable but to be frank, the book is absolutely terrible. Telling a single story from three differing points of view works well for William Faulkner but not for Rackham as all three voices sound very male and very much the same. The book contains very explicit and bizarre sexual situations and if you have any respect for Dickens at all, you'll feel like you need a shower afterwards. Furthermore, even as a "novel," the historicity and credibility of these events is highly suspect. Skip it.

I hate Dickens, and hated having to suffer through Great Expectations in high school, but after reading this book, I'm considering giving it a second go. Rackham may or may not have done research (I'm not one to judge) but what he has done is create a compelling story with compelling characters. His point of view and distinct voices are excellent, certainly the best I've seen in a long time.
There are some gruesome and dispiriting scenes. This is a book for those who want excellent writing, not for those who want cheerful resolutions and happy endings.

With chapters written in the varying voices of Wilkie Collins (friend to Dickens and author of novels of such novels as `The Woman in White'), Georgina Hogarth (the sister of Dickens' wife, Catherine), and Ellen Ternan (the young actress/mistress to Dickens), Rackham gives the reader creative perspective into the life of the `inimitable' author. There is much to speculate because Dickens, in true Victorian fashion, did everything in his power to keep his public from finding out about his private life. He went so far as to have seasonal bonfires, his children assisted him, tossing into them all of his paperwork and letters. In fact, after his death, the only link to his private comings and goings were coded messages in a day journal.

This book covers the last phase of Dickens' life: his separation/dissolution of marriage with Catherine Hogarth, his final trip to America (which made him a lot of money - more than 15,000 pounds), and work on novels like `Great Expectations', `Our Mutual Friend', and `Edwin Drood'. What Rackham tries to explore through his narrative characters is what Dickens, the man, was really like. There were social and familial pressures that tied the author down. He made a lot of money throughout his career, but wasn't to able to enjoy the fruits of his labors; his sons were a disappointment to him, his celebrity was often a too heavy responsibility, and his marriage was dragged through tabloidal mud - surprisingly, via his own pen.

It isn't even known - just assumed - if his relationship with the young Ternan was consummated. They met on the stage... [Dickens took great interest in the stage - often working side by side with actors on productions. His dramatic readings of novel excerpts oftentimes garnered more pay than publications. It is said that his final emphatic reading from `Oliver Twist' (the scene where Nancy is murdered) led to his death.] Rackham does a wondrous job filling in the tenderest gaps.

`Rag and Bone' is an eye-opener. Read it along with a good biography - try `The Friendly Dickens' (an enjoyable read) or Angus Wilson's `Life of Charles Dickens.'
And, of course, read Dickens. His body of work is a real treasure - don't just skim either. `Great Expectations', `Copperfield', and `Christmas Carol' are fabulous, but you get the best sense of his comic genius and characterization in `Pickwick', `Nicholas Nickleby', `Dombey & Son'...

I couldn't finish this book and regret reading as much as I did. Vulgar, name dropping, coat-tail riding, rewriting someone else's story with inserted titallating bits. I gather there's no law against slandering people who lived 100 years ago, but this book makes you feel that there should. The publishers, though they plastered Charles Dickens name on the cover, wrote a disclaimer on the inside that this is fiction and any resemblance to real persons is just coincidence. Yea Right. If you want to read about Dickens' secret life, you'd be far better to read Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin.

This is a beautifully illustrated book of the classic story. Wonderful to share with the entire family and a great excuse to start a new tradition at this holiday season.

Although the artwork in this book is great, readers should be warned that the text is a heavy-handed abridgement of Charles Dickens's wonderful little novel. It omits far too much of the rich and colorful language of this stirring novelette.

I bought this book to replace my old copy that was lost during a recent move. The book is finely illustrated but the narrative is so full of gaping wounds that the entire charm of the story is lost. I should have searched a little harder for a COMPLETE version.