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Dickens' Journalism: The Amusements of the People and Other Papers: Reports, Essays, and Reviews, 1834–51
This new volume of the first-ever annotated edition of Dickens' journalism begins with examples of his work (never before collected) as a young reporter for the great Liberal paper The Morning Chronicle - reports of grand public ceremonials and rowdy elections as well as highly entertaining theatre reviews, all marked by touches of what we now think of as quintessentially Dickensian humor.
Between 1837 and 1849 Dickens wrote, alongside his hugely successful novels, many articles and reviews. They were published anonymously in the famous Radical weekly The Examiner, and a generous selection of them is presented here. Whether the subject be a botched attempt to put an end to the West African slave trade, crime statistics, ghosts, panoramas, the horrors of a parish baby-farm, or outdated royal ceremonial, Dickens writes here with all the linguistic verve and passionate energy characteristic of his great novels.
This is equally true of the pieces he began writing on a weekly basis for his own journal Household Words from 1850 onwards. This volume covers the first eighteen months of the paper's existence; we find Dickens celebrating such things as cheap theatres and the new detective police, satirising the follies and ineptitude of politicians, campaigning for workhouse reform and for more humane treatment of animals driven to slaughter, lambasting Pre-Raphaelite painting, and generally keeping a finger of genius on the pulse of what he called "the moving age". For the Dickens reader there are innumerable fascinating links to be made between all this remarkable journalism and the great novels; while for all those more widely interested in the social and cultural history of early Victorian England this volume offers truly a wealth of material.
Between 1837 and 1849 Dickens wrote, alongside his hugely successful novels, many articles and reviews. They were published anonymously in the famous Radical weekly The Examiner, and a generous selection of them is presented here. Whether the subject be a botched attempt to put an end to the West African slave trade, crime statistics, ghosts, panoramas, the horrors of a parish baby-farm, or outdated royal ceremonial, Dickens writes here with all the linguistic verve and passionate energy characteristic of his great novels.
This is equally true of the pieces he began writing on a weekly basis for his own journal Household Words from 1850 onwards. This volume covers the first eighteen months of the paper's existence; we find Dickens celebrating such things as cheap theatres and the new detective police, satirising the follies and ineptitude of politicians, campaigning for workhouse reform and for more humane treatment of animals driven to slaughter, lambasting Pre-Raphaelite painting, and generally keeping a finger of genius on the pulse of what he called "the moving age". For the Dickens reader there are innumerable fascinating links to be made between all this remarkable journalism and the great novels; while for all those more widely interested in the social and cultural history of early Victorian England this volume offers truly a wealth of material.
408 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1996
About the author
Charles Dickens
12.9k books32k followersCharles John Huffam Dickens (1812-1870) was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.
Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.
On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.
(from Wikipedia)
Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.
Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.
On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.
(from Wikipedia)
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