Tomalin on Dickens

Claire Tomalin goes from strength to strength. She has a light touch; she is not overawed by her subject; she is not afraid to be critical of aspects of the books and certainly not of the man: Dickens the people's friend was neither a good father nor a good husband, and sometimes not a very good friend either. But he was a very effective scourge of the authorities for their blithe neglect of public welfare, and fortunately achieved this through his writing rather than through the political career that was on offer to him. Do read this. It is highly informative, witty and sometimes moving. I have learned so much