Dombey and Son (World's Classics)

by Charles Dickens

book data

916 ratings, 3.81 average rating, 88 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		28%
4		35%
3		25%
2		8%
1		1%

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published

August 26th 1982 by Oxford Paperbacks (first published 1848)

details

Paperback, 755 pages

isbn

0192815652 (isbn13: 9780192815651)

description

All texts are based on the Clarendon Edition of the Works of Charles Dickens.

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Oct 18, 2008

Laura rated it:

(review of isbn 0812967437)

bookshelves: fiction

Read in January, 2009

I'm ashamed to admit that until I read this book, I hadn't read a lot of Dickens. I skimmed Great Expectations when I was in 9th grade, but only because I was forced, and I read A Christmas Carol for work once (long story, but I was working for an educational publishing company and we were doing a dumbed-down version). After finishing Dombey and Son, I'm afraid I don't have anything especially intelligent to add to the reams and reams that has been written about Dickens, except that I'm excited ...more

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Feb 21, 2008

Sarah rated it:

(review of isbn 0812967437)

I always love Dickens. This is my sixth by him. I am always left a little breathless by the wit with which he sketches his characters. This book certainly had its unforgettable characters, my favorites were Cap'n Cuttle, Walter Gay, Mr. Toots and Susan, and for villain, the sheer toothiness of Mr. Carker is downright awful.

I found the book a bit slow in its first half though the gradual build of Florence and little Paul's relationship, especially down at the sea was pivotal to the wh...more

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Jul 02, 2009

Christopher H. rated it:

(review of isbn 0140435468)

bookshelves: british-literature, personal-favorites, victorian-literature

Dombey and Son is one of Dickens' best! This novel, in my opinion, rivals Little Dorrit. The main protagonist, Florence Dombey is an amazing woman, full of strength and character which guides her through some incredibly miserable years. Some of the characters that Dickens develops during the course of this novel are some of the most heinously evil or sad, or full of goodness and love, or are just plain funny. There's a powerful message about the influence of "wealth", not just mone...more

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1 comment

Jan 24, 2009

anca dc rated it:

(review of isbn 0812967437)

* sa nu va luati dupa steluta mea ca ii foarte foarte subiectiva :)) pentru ca...nu mai imi aduc aminte n i m i c din ea :D:D am citit'o in clasa a 8a cand ne punea profa de engla` sa citim de nebuni nush cate carti [in romaneste/engleza cum vroiam:] si sa le facem rezumatul in engleza. mi'e ciuda acum ca am aruncat caietul ala..deh. intrasem la liceu :rolleyes:

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Nov 16, 2008

F.R. rated it:

(review of isbn 0140435468)

Dombey & Son comes from mid-period Dickens, before he wrote his epic books on society like Bleak House and Little Dorrit. There are some parts where he tries to make the points about wealth and poverty across London, but none of it is as searing as in the later books. A lot of it is subsumed by following a buch of characters who are - oddly for Dickens - not very vibrant. There are a few of his stand out grotesques in this novel, certainly none that have lingered in the public imagination.
...more

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Jul 10, 2007

Noreen rated it:

(review of isbn 1404348662)

Read in July, 2007

Not the best of Dickens' books, but to be honest I like him so much that I'm willing to forgive him quite a lot. Like, for instance, the truly sickening Florence. And the ending, which was a bit of a cop-out (melodramatic and tearful reconciliation, and lots of kids who get named after their poor dead relatives). Edith was fairly interesting, though.

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Dec 12, 2008

Graham rated it:

(review of isbn 019283990X)

bookshelves: 19th-century, classics, literature

Owns a copy — Read in January, 2006

I'm not the world's greatest Dickens fan but I appreciate his status. I want to read all his books before I die, but I'm happy to take my time. DOMBEY AND SON was my second, after GREAT EXPECTATIONS, and I studied it for university. I'm glad it was on the course reading list; that meant I had to tackle it, and the size might have put me off otherwise.

As with all his other works, it's a completely memorable look at life in Victorian London. The characters are well sketched and the dia...more

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Mar 25, 2009

John rated it:

(review of isbn 0812967437)

Read in April, 2009

You've read "A Christmas Carol," and you wonder if you would like Charles Dickens' longer works.
Here's a test:
How do you respond to the following sentence?

It was a dull, grey, autumn day indeed and in a minute's pause and silence that took place, the leaves fell sorrowfully.

If it makes you roll your eyes, you probably shouldn't read any more Dickens than you already have.
If it brings a smile to your face, you might want to try one of the full-l...more

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Nov 16, 2008

Rebecca rated it:

(review of isbn 0812967437)

bookshelves: classics, faves

Resonate. Alas.

*shakes fist at urchin adolescence*

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Oct 03, 2009

Everyman rated it:

(review of isbn 0140435468)

bookshelves: british-classics

Read in October, 2009

This was my first reading of Dombey and Son, and I found it to be one of Dickens’s less successful novels. I know some rank it highly. But I found the plot mostly uninteresting and even more dependent than is usual for Dickens on unlikely events and coincidences, and much of the writing turgid and uninspired. The first third of the book managed to engage me as the situations developed, but after that I increasingly read more out of duty than out of pleasure. I have enjoyed so much of Dicke...more This was my first reading of Dombey and Son, and I found it to be one of Dickens’s less successful novels. I know some rank it highly. But I found the plot mostly uninteresting and even more dependent than is usual for Dickens on unlikely events and coincidences, and much of the writing turgid and uninspired. The first third of the book managed to engage me as the situations developed, but after that I increasingly read more out of duty than out of pleasure. I have enjoyed so much of Dickens’s work that I kept reading in the expectation that things must improve, but they never did.

I never managed to get a good sense of the character of Dombey or understand why he acted in such self-destructive ways. My experience of highly successful businessmen is that they are almost universally much better judges of character than Dombey turned out to be. His marriage to Edith Granger was unjustified by any aspect of his character, especially since he didn’t have the excuse of love or even affection blinding his judgment, as there was none of that on either side of the marriage. His treatment of Florence was inexplicable even for Victorian England.

Florence herself was sappy and insipid. I longed to find a single mention of any possible hint of reality in her, but never did. Reading about her was like eating an endless bowl of undiluted sugar.

The backgrounds were less interesting and less finely drawn than in most Dickens novels. London didn’t come alive in nearly the way it does in Bleak House, for example, and there was no location of great interest, such as the Marshelsea in Little Dorrit or the marshes or Miss Havisham's house in Great Expectations.

As is typical of Dickens, there were plenty of well drawn minor characters. I particularly enjoyed Captain Cuttle (from whom the phrase “when found, make a note on” apparently comes), Solomon Gills, and Susan Nipper, and appreciated the humor in Mr. Toots and Cousin Feenix.

I have read many of Dickens’s works multiple times, and will read many of them again in future, but Dombey and Son will not be among my choices for rereading. However, it does merit three stars, because even a weak Dickens is still a Dickens. (less)

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May 15, 2009

Laurele rated it:

(review of isbn 0140435468)

bookshelves: audible, books-read-in-2009, dickens-novels

Read in May, 2009

Dickens' seventh novel is packed with memorable characters. My favorite, I think, is Captain Cuttle, though perhaps he ties with the amiable and devoted Mr. Toots.

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5 comments

Sep 21, 2009

Donna added it (review of isbn 0812967437)

Read in October, 2009

Written with inspiration from Dombey And Son:

"Attempting to be authentic amid constant, watchful company is not only impossible, but absurd; it is only natural that an audience of one or many will have a set of worried interests leaning against how you speak or behave. And how confusing the fear and horror of presenting what you wish rather than what was expected! Oh, the shock of the other in their disguise for charity! And, yet the trade off for this chaos caused by an unmitig...more

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Jul 18, 2009

Camille rated it:

(review of isbn 0812967437)

Read in August, 2009

This was my first Dickens' book, and I really enjoyed it. At times, it was a little too detailed, but I liked the imagery overall. I liked how two human characteristics, pride and humility/ability to forgive, were personified in Mr. Dombey and his daughter, Florence. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

pg. 923- "Harriet complied and read- read the eternal book for all the weary, and the heavy-laden; for all the wretched, fallen, and neglected of this earth- read the blessed hist...more This was my first Dickens' book, and I really enjoyed it. At times, it was a little too detailed, but I liked the imagery overall. I liked how two human characteristics, pride and humility/ability to forgive, were personified in Mr. Dombey and his daughter, Florence. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

pg. 923- "Harriet complied and read- read the eternal book for all the weary, and the heavy-laden; for all the wretched, fallen, and neglected of this earth- read the blessed history, in which the blind palsied beggar, the criminal, the woman stained with shame, the shunned of all our dainty clay, each has a portion, that no human pride, indifference, or sophistry, through all the ages that this world shall last, can take away, or by the thousandth atom of a grain reduce- read the ministry of Him who, through the round of human life, and all its hopes and griefs, from birth to death, from infancy to age, had sweet companion for, and interest in, its every scene and stage, its every suffering and sorrow."
(Harriet read the Bible to Alice, a women who was used and abused and had turned bitter, on her deathbed)

pg. 544- "Captain Cuttle, like all mankind, little knew how much hope had survived within him under discouragement, until he felt its death-shock." (Captain Cuttle heard of Walter's supposed death, and was much more discouraged than he thought, since he thought he wasn't hopeful in the beginning. Somehow, despite past experiences, hope still exists in most situations.)

pg. 935- "He was fallen, never to be raised up any more. For the night of his worldly ruin there was no to-morrow's sun; for the stain of his domestic shame there was no purification; nothing, thank Heaven, could bring his dead child back to life. But that which he might have made so different in all the Past- which might have made the Past itself so different, though this he hardly thought of now- that which was his own work, that which he could so easily have wrought into a blessing, and had set himself so steadily for years to form into a curse: that was the sharp grief of his soul."
(Mr. Dombey, reflecting on his prideful, lonely-by-choice life) (less)

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May 31, 2009

Susan rated it:

(review of isbn 1853262579)

Read in June, 2009

Oh, Boz, how many hours of sleep you have robbed me of! Finding Dombey & Son was the fulfillment of a long-held fantasy: one day I will walk into a bookstore and come across a Dickens novel I’ve never read--never even knew existed! And there it was: Dombey & Son.

I can only barely explain how it is that D&S is so unknown. It’s heavy handed in its message--only slightly moreso than his others by closing too many chapters with unveiled foreshadowing and overt calls to a character t...more

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Feb 25, 2009

Stephanie rated it:

(review of isbn 0812967437)

bookshelves: 2009-novels

Read in May, 2009

While not quite up there with Our Mutual Friend (my favorite so far), Dombey was one of the most enjoyable Dickens books I've read. All the traditional (and occasionally overdone) Dickens elements are there -- innocent and loving children and young women, oddball humorous side characters, often with comical names, sentimentality galore, and crazy coincidences and links between characters you would never expect (except that you know it's coming), but they are carried off generally well and to gr...more

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Jan 07, 2008

Jeanne rated it:

(review of isbn 0812967437)

bookshelves: dickens-2008

Read in March, 2008

recommends it for: anyone who loves Dickens

It's book 3 in my quest for mastery of the novels of Dickens. And so far, it is my favorite.

This novel contains everything that a Dickens novel should contain: lots of exaggerated characters with silly names, a complex plot, and a mixture of comedy and tragedy.

The plot (in a nutshell): Mr. Dombey has always wanted a son, for business purposes, of course. How else can the firm continue to keep its name? So, Paul Dombey is born, and the elder Dombey is ecstatic. Unf...more

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Jun 25, 2007

Brad rated it:

(review of isbn 0812967437)

bookshelves: novel

Read in January, 2004

This is one of Dickens' masterworks that I have reread several times. The deep pathos of the progress of the Dombey family is counterbalanced by the comic hijinks of such unforgettable characters as the choleric Major Bagstock, the idiotic prophet Captain Cuttle, as well as Susan Nipper, Mr. Toots, Mrs. Pipchin and Sir Barnet Skittles.

My generic comment about Charles Dickens:
First of all, although I am a partisan of Dickens' writing and have read and relished most his works, I...more

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May 20, 2007

Ben rated it:

(review of isbn 0812967437)

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: readers of Dickens

I thought different things about this book over the course of my reading it. Natural enough, given the length. But, as Herodotus teaches us, don't judge a life happy or tragic -- or a book good or bad -- until you've seen it to the end.

Dombey & Son is not as successful a novel as some of Dickens' finest: David Copperfield, Our Mutual Friend (currently, my absolute favorite), Nicholas Nickleby, Bleak House, etc. Judging it purely on structure and the usual things we read novels for, D...more

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May 14, 2009

Hallie rated it:

(review of isbn 019283990X)

Read in January, 2001

Read this for the OU English Lit course, and while it's not my favourite Dickens, it's got some things that are up there with the best he's done IMO - the hot-house forcing image of the school poor Paul is sent to is genius and the power of his description of the impact of the development of trains on Britain is amazing. And there's the usual social critique of snobbery and classism which is spot on, so -- the heroine is uniquely wet? Yes. And it is very long, but still...

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May 06, 2009

Stephanie is currently reading it (review of isbn 0812967437)

bookshelves: currently-reading

So far I can't say I am enjoying this at all as much as Our Mutual Friend (or Bleak House or Little Dorrit or any other Dickens novel I can think of). Dombey is so cold, his poor daughter Florence so overlooked and unloved... I am looking forward to his chastening. I was not surprised to read there were autobiographical elements here because there is something unrelenting about Dombey that makes him less entertaining, more depressingly real than other grim types in Dickens.

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