Charles Dickens Books

Read with aplomb by Paul Scofield, this classic Dickens novel is a great audio tape to take along with you when you are walking or exercising. David Copperfield seems somewhat of a pitiful fellow, which makes you like him all the more, and the villainous character of Mr. Uriah Heep is brought out quite nicely. What struck me was how people in this book fell in love so quickly, as though looking at one another and sensing an attraction was enough for a proposal of marriage. Young Mr. Copperfield loses his father at a very early age, but is quite content with his housemaid and his mother, who love him dearly. Then he is sent for a two week visit to the home of his housemaid, where he has a marvelous time, only to return and learn that his mother has re-married a dreadful man, who beats David and sends him away to the worst of schools, where, if he is not careful, he will be beaten daily. When his mother passes away, young David begins to become a man, and it is this that you will admire, his strength and perseverance in growing up under such adverse circumstances. The cassette version is only two cassettes long, but it is long enough for you to understand precisely what Mr. Dickens means for you to understand. And yes, David Copperfield suffers many trials and tribulations as an adult as well, which keeps it interesting. What he becomes in the end will not surprise you, but it will delight you.

Anything read by Patrick Tull will be wonderful, and Dickens is a perfect match for him. Like Jim Dale, he can do all the voices. Excellent!

It is saying a lot, but this is the finest book we have on Dickens. It is the most alert, dextrous, generous, and surprising. The titanic and inimitable author is so well served by this titanic and inimitable scholar, Hilary Schor.

Also available in a hardcover edition (1932236376, $25.00), Dickens And The Social Order evaluates four of Dickens' early novels - Nicholas Nickelby, Barnaby Rudge, American Notes, and Martin Chuzzlewit - and derives from them Dickens' social philosophy. Presenting the affirmation that Dickens in fact held a surprisingly traditional wordview, as a champion of authority, customs, and accepted mannerly behavior, Dickens And The Social Order progressively reveals Dickens as a solid pragmatist, who considered practical realities first and utopian dreams in a far lesser light than others would claim. Astutely written and solidly argued, Dickens And The Social Order is a welcome addition to classical literary criticism shelves.

Pretty specialized book, so I suppose everyone interested in Dickens already has it. Published at $35. 156 numbered pages. It outlines the important events in the writer's personal and professional life. In time this book will probably sell for $40 again once all the remaindered copies go off the market. A thin book but useful to the Dickens scholar.

This dictionary, offers a comprehensive guide to more than 1,550 of his characters & to the works in which they appear. From the early "Sketches by Boz" to the unfinished "Edwin Drood", no character is forgotten, even the most minor. Every entry contains a brief description of the person and references to all the chapters & important incidents in which he or she appears. For the major characters there are also appropriate quotations from the original works. An additional 200 entries deal with imaginary places, societies, and allusions. Philip has also included a fascinating index providing the originals and prototypes of characters & places in the works of Charles Dickens...

Nicolas Bentley, the book's esteemed editor, had an unusual career. He drew pictures for books like TS Eliot's famous "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" and was known as a humorist. In "The Dickens Index," not one of his illustrations are shown. It is, instead, demonstrating his great breadth as a renaissance man.

You won't buy the book because of Bentley's skill as an artist or sense of humor. It is a research tool.

If you'd like to understand Charles Dickens' novels or his shorter fiction, this is it. If you want to understand the people and researchers surrounding Dickens as he lived, then this is it. If you are curious about the unusual words, now obselete but used by Dickens, you'll find it here. All of the characters in Dicken's writing. or alluded to by him are in here too.

Each entry is no more than 200 words. Look up 'ensign', 'eggs-hot' and "evil... dies with the doer of it," and learn what an ensign does, what eggs-hot tastes like and where you might read a quote from William Shakespeare. Where? It is in "Our Mutual Friend," thre last novel Dickens finished.

It reads easily, but there are some abbreviations to referenced to in an abbreviation found in front.

Useful, instruction, and thorough, "The Dickens Index" as edited by Nicolas Bentley" should land in the library of any sdtudent of Dickens.

I fully recommend "The Dickens Index."

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

Volume 4 of The Dent Uniform Edition Of Dickens' Journalism, The Uncommercial Traveller And Other Papers 1859-70 is a significant literary event for Dickensian studies. Like the earlier volumes of Charles Dicken's work, the articles and writings of thise literary compendium of Dicken's writings is enhanced for academia and Dickensian scholarship by a list of abbreviations, a prefance, introduction, acknowledgements, as well as "Note on the Text and Illustrations", select bibliography, "Dicken's Life and Times 1859-70", a list of illustrations, glossary, index, and four appendices: The Great International Walking-Match; Prefaces; Descriptive headlines added by Dickens to articles in the volume which were included in UT1; and Complete listing of Dickens' known journalism, December 1833-August 1869. Highly recommended.

Nothing says Victorian more than Christmas, and this excellent book by Simon Callow presents a Victorian Christmas as seen through the eyes of the most popular of the Victorian era authors. Charles Dickens unintentionally reinvented the way we celebrate that glorious holiday by one short novel he wrote in 1843 called 'A Christmas Carol.' At the time of writing, the Christmas celebrations he described in his little book were virtually non-existant, but it was Mr. Dickens' descriptions of the way he felt that Christmas should be celebrated that took England, then America, by storm. The party at Fezziwig's, nephew Fred's gathering of friends and family, the Cratchit's meager only in sight celebration. All in descriptive detail. And it's because of Dickens' view on the matter that we celebrate the holiday the way we do now.
Mr. Callow's book gives the reader a full view of an early Victorian Christmas celebration in a number of ways. First and foremost, the complete as it was written novel of 'A Christmas Carol' is here so one can read how it all began. Callow's book goes on to explain the holiday feasts that the celebrants partook in as the Christmas Season grew in popularity, as well as the many traditions - old and new - that became popular. One very old tradition that is still carried on today is wassailing - that is, the singing of Christmas Carols for money or hot chocolate, although in days of old, the waites sang for money or a fruity rum-laced drink!
There are plenty of original 19th century drawings and paintings throughout to give the book the look of Dickens' time.
As this book rightfully states, the only images of Christmas that owe nothing to Dickens are those of the Nativity and of Father Christmas/Santa Claus. Well...ok...the Christmas Tree was introduced to the English through Prince Albert.
I love the Christmas Season and, besides the original Biblical account of the birth of Christ, 'A Christmas Carol' in its many movie versions as well as, of course, the original Dickens writing, is the epitome of the spirit of the holiday. This book by Simon Callow will help anyone who desires to have a Dickens Christmas celebration of there own, either through thoughts while reading it or, if you would like to take it a step further, by having your own Victorian/Dickens Christmas party.
This book by Simon Callow, by the way, is well worth your hard earned dollar.

This is a book I first checked out from the library in college. I must tell you, for anyone who wants to become a writer, this is the most fascinating book. After I read this baby at least five times, and the University of Iowa library was screaming to get it back, I must have checked it out at least 4 more times. Now that I can, I have my own copy. This book will explain to you--from the inside--how Charles Dickens planned and constructed his novels. Remember the famous Hemingway quote: "Fiction is architecture, not interior decorating." This book contains the blueprints for dozens of now-famous novels. curmudgeon99@earthlink.net