Dickens on France

by John Edmondson (Editor)

"Charles Dickens, Franais naturalisŽ, et Citoyen de Paris." This is how Dickens signed a letter from France to his friend John Forster in 1847. Behind the joke lay a fascination for French life and culture and a sense of affinity with the country that would take him back often and that would find expression in some of his finest work. Dickens on France brings together short stories, extracts from novels and travel writing. Among its journalistic highlights are accounts of a train journey from London to Paris, a rough Channel crossing, the pleasures of Boulogne, and Parisian life in the 1850s and 1860s. Extracts from the travelogue Pictures from Italy take us by coach from Paris to Marseille. The selected short stories include "His Boots", a section of "Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy" and "The Boy at Mugby", and there are extracts from A Tale of Two Cities, Little Dorrit, Dombey and Son, Nicholas Nickleby, and Our Mutual Friend. Dickens was interested primarily in the character of places he visited, the behaviour of people he observed in them, and in the sensation and psychology of travelling. These preoccupations keep the writing fresh and accessible. It requires no leap through time to appreciate his musings on his fellow passengers, his reflections on sitting in a Paris cafŽ, his random exploration of city streets or small country towns, or his opposition to cultural bigotry. Infused with energy, perception and open-mindedness, this collection vividly evokes life in France and Britain in the nineteenth century and reminds us, however much progress we make, how little we change. Dickens on France is extensively annotated to provide historical and autobiographical contexts and to highlight literary and other allusions. Brief chapter introductions and a general introduction to the volume highlight key aspects of the selections and discuss the nature of Dickens's enduring relationship with France.

425 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Gerald Sinstadt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any lover of Dickens will find much to enjoy here. John Edmondson has assembled a wide selection from the author's writings on France and the French. Some items, extracted from the novels, will be familiar; others are from Dickens' journalism and travel writing.

Time and again one is struck by the acute observation and the felicitous phrase, and by the wide range of a prolific output. The dramatic thrust of the Revolution in "A Tale of Two Cities" contrasts with the humour of Mr Podsnap or Mrs Lirriper, or the still relevant contrast between station buffets on the British and French railways; there is sharp satire at the expense of a favourite Dickensian target, the judiciary, and there is more than one excursion into the public morgue.

All this is accompanied by extensive notes, suggesting a book intended for the Dickens scholar, but the scholarship sits lightly beside the pure pleasure of renewing acquaintance with a great writer.

[Apryl Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm quite impressed by this labor of love on the part of John Edmondson. His interest in research and 19th-century life are evident as he ties Dickens' French experiences into a cohesive whole.

Why only 3-stars then? Only because I've read most of these snippets in their entirety, and find that's the way I prefer to read Mr. Dickens. If I were a student of British lit or pre-industrial France, then this is a 5-star collection.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is completely fascinating tracking how Dickens' experiences in France make their way from his travelogues to his short stories, excerpts in novels, and ultimately in A Tale of Two Cities; Edmondson does a great job of making these threads clear and presents them with all the context. Dickens' deft characterizations of the French as well as his own countrymen are hilarious, as usual. What can I say? He's Charles Dickens.