The Curious World of Dickens

by Clive Hurst, Violet Moller

Published to mark the 200th anniversary of Dickens's birth, this book celebrates the greatest of English novelists by illustrating some of his abiding preoccupations. Prompted by quotations from the novels and other writings, each themed chapter explores contemporary images relating to salient topics of the Victorian age such as the public entertainments of London and the domestic pastimes of its inhabitants; the coming of the railways (which were to transform Victorian England in fiction and in fact); school life for children, and conditions in the workhouses and prisons which loom so large in many of the novels and which blighted Dickens's own childhood. Dickens was an incorrigible showman, and this book also explores his role as actor-manager of theatrical productions, as originator of the myriad stage adaptations of his books, and as supreme interpreter of them himself in the public readings which came to dominate his later years. Reproducing key extracts from the novels alongside a selection of the original covers as they appeared weekly and monthly in the bookshops, their crucial illustrations and all the paraphernalia of nineteenth-century advertising, is a unique approach which breathes life into the vibrant world of Dickens and his characters.

112 pages, Hardcover

First published June 2, 2012

Reviews

[Susan Liston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sort of a miscellany of Dickens ephemera I bought at a library book sale. Would make a nice gift for a Dickens fan.

[Jason Furman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short book is from the Dickens exhibit at the Bodleian Library. It focuses on the elements of Dickens life and work like food, railroads, prisons, workhouses, Christmas, publishing, and others. Each is the subject of a chapter with an introduction, extensive passages from Dickens or from his contemporaries, and then a number of illustrations drawn from the Bodleian's ephemera collection, like playbills, menus, manuals, and the like. Altogether it is an illuminating and interesting perspective that gives greater perspective to Victorian London. Plus it was good re-reading all the excerpts.

[Lonely Panda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very interesting book. Although I thought there was not enough historical data. The book is more a sketch of Dickens' time then a real history of it. However I loved the documents and various pictures and it made me want to read The Curiosity Shop