THE ACCLAIMED DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY OF ONE OF THE GREATEST BRITISH WRITERS OF ALL TIME Charles Dickens was a phenomenon: a journalist, a father of ten, a supporter of liberal social causes, but most of all, a great novelist. From unpromising beginnings sent to work a black factory age twelve, he rose to such social and literary heights that when he died, the world mourned. Yet the brilliance concealed a divided character: a republican, he disliked America; sentimental about the family, he took up with a young actress; usually generous, he cut off his impecunious children. From the award-winning author Claire Tomalin, Charles Dickens: A Life paints an unforgettable portrait of Dickens, capturing brilliantly the complex character of this great genius. If you loved Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol, this book is invaluable reading. 'By far the most humane and imaginatively sympathetic account yet for the general reader' Amanda Craig, New Statesman

Charles Dickens is one of the most popular and enduring authors in the English language. His novels, short stories and sketches have made an indelible impression on generations of readers. This book presents the author's life and works in a highly illustrated volume that takes a thematic all-encompassing look at this brilliant writer and the society that so influenced his work. It also looks at both the public and the private Dickens- his beliefs, his passions and his relationships. -- from Book Jacket.

DIVThe engaging biography of one of the most celebrated and enduring authors of Western literature /divDIV Charles Dickens grew up in harsh poverty and became one of the world’s most beloved authors. Biographer Fred Kaplan takes a brilliant, multifaceted approach in his examination of Dickens’s life: his fraught marriage and relationships; the ever-present effects of his humble beginnings; his extensive, but carefully managed, public life; and his friendships with famous writers. Dickens unearths the complex passions that drove both the man and his work, illuminating why the legendary author—just like the characters in his fiction—has remained a mammoth figure in Western literature./div

The Chimes A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In, a short novel by Charles Dickens, was written and published in 1844, one year after A Christmas Carol. It is the second in his series of Christmas books five short books with strong social and moral messages that he published during the 1840's.

A lush historical novel set in Victorian England, When It Rained at Hembry Castle is the story of an aristocratic family, secrets that dare not be told, and the wonder of falling in love. When the 8th Earl of Staton dies, his eldest son, the unreliable Richard, inherits the title and the family’s home—Hembry Castle. The Earl’s niece, the American-born Daphne, is intrigued by Edward Ellis, a rising author with a first-hand knowledge of Hembry Castle—from the servants’ hall. Can Richard come to terms with his title before bringing ruin on his family? Will Edward and Daphne find their way to each other despite the obstacles of life at Hembry Castle? When It Rained at Hembry Castle is a page-turning, romantic novel with vivid characters and an engrossing story that will keep you guessing until the end.

Charles Dickens is without doubt a literary giant. The most widely read author of his own generation, his works remain incredibly popular and important today. Often seen as the quintessential Victorian novelist, his texts convey perhaps better than any others the drive for wealth and progress and the social contrasts that characterised the Victorian era. His works are widely studied throughout the world both as literary masterpieces and as classic examples of the nineteenth century novel. Combining a biographical approach with close reading of the novels, Donald Hawes offers an illuminating portrait of Dickens as a writer and insight into his life and times. This book will provide a short, lively but sophisticated introduction to Dickens's work and the personal and social context in which it was written.

Dickens A to Z is a guide to Dickens's life, works, characters, the Victorian context in which he lived and wrote, and the critics and scholars who have commented on his novels. This unique encyclopedia is a superbly organized, integrated reference suitable for both Dickens scholars and Dickens fans. Among the more than 2,500 cross-referenced entries can be found articles about: every Dickens novel, including story synopses, commentary, criticism, and adaptations; each of Dickens's journalistic essays, sketches, poems, and plays; each character Dickens created; Dickens's family, friends, acquaintances, professional contemporaries, and critics; places important to Dickens's life and work; social issues in Victorian England; and much more. This encyclopedia is enhanced by 50 illustrations, many of them by Dickens's contemporaries, a chronology, a selected bibliography, and an index.

"This clear-sighted biography and literary study examines Dickens the novelist in all his glory. It begins with the life: its often tragic as well as comic dimensions. Brian Murray analyzes the important influence of Dickens's early professional experiences as a journalist. (It was as a reporter that Dickens encountered, and first wrote about, the great human problems of modern urban life that were to inform so much of his later work.) Also discussed is Dickens's fascination with the theater. Like any experienced playwright, he was always acutely aware of his audience. And the later reading tours, which became an obsession, were almost certainly an aspect of the same impulse." "Successive chapters discuss the great novels, from Pickwick to Edwin Drood. They are looked at in their social context and from the standpoint of character, narrative, and structure. Readings of novels such as Dombey and Son and Bleak House are of especial interest for their close analysis of sometimes neglected works." "At times, Dickens seems dated. But the large audience that exists for his work today, as it appears in various media, is proof of his teeming inventiveness and the universality of his themes. Humorist, satirist, muckraker, sentimentalist, tragedian, chronicler of humanity, Dickens continues to delight and to teach - to enlighten all of humanity."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved