About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherBloomsbury Academic & Professional

ISBN-100826489648

ISBN-139780826489647

eBay Product ID (ePID)57192468

Product Key Features

Number of Pages176 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication NameCharles Dickens

SubjectGeneral, Literary, European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh

Publication Year2007

TypeTextbook

Subject AreaLiterary Criticism, Biography & Autobiography

AuthorDonald Hawes

SeriesWriters Lives Ser.

FormatUk-Trade Paper

Dimensions

Item Height0.4 in

Item Weight7.5 Oz

Item Length8.5 in

Item Width5.5 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

Dewey Edition22

Reviews"...certainly Donald Hawes's fine new guidebook [cited above] is an example of one that can offer 'newcomers'. . . an entry point into Dickens's work."- Referenced in Laurence W. Mazzeno's The Dickens Industry (Rochester, New York: Camden House, 2008), p. 255:, 'This is a book to be recommended to anyone wanting a lucid, reliable, sensible, balanced introduction to Dickens. It can be read with profit and interest as it guides readers into further areas for investigation.' The Dickensian, Winter 2007, 'The first [chapters] give potted plot summaries as well as critical insights which will be particularly useful for beginners. The latter explore recurrent symbols and those topics which Dickens made his own - for example nineteenth century London and its relation to the labyrinthine system of jurisprudence which permeates Bleak House , or the prisons, most notably in Little Dorrit . Donald Hawes clearly knows Dickens's work inside out, and all his arguments are illustrated by well-chosen details from the best known works. In most cases he gives some notion of their contemporary reception, plus an account of how these reputations have lasted into the twentieth century... ...Hawes covers all the major novels, the stories, and some of the occasional writing. With this and the thematic chapters, plus an extensive bibliography of further reading, there's everything here for someone who wants a comprehensive departure point for further Dickens studies.' Roy Johnson, 2007 - mantex.co.uk, Review in Etudes anglaises, vol. 62, no. 4 (October-December 2009), pp.493-494 by Natalie Vanfass, University of Toulouse, France

Dewey Decimal823.8

Table Of ContentAbbreviations and References Introduction1. Why We Read Dickens2. Life of Dickens3. Sketches by Boz, Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist4. Dickens's London5. Social Class in Victorian England6. Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiosity Shop, Barnaby Rudge7. Prison and Crime8. Dickens and Education9. Medicine, Doctors, Nurses and Hospitals 10. Martin Chuzzlewit, A Christmas Carol, Dombey and Son11. Women and Children in Dickens 12. Dickens and Animals13. David Copperfield, Bleak House14. Dickens's Comic Characters and Villains15. Hard Times, Little Dorrit, A Tale of Two Cities 16. Theatre and Entertainment 17. Christmas Stories18. Dickens's Public Readings19. Dickens's Friends and Contemporaries20. Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend, The Mystery of Edwin Drood21. Adaptations and Versions of Dickens's WritingsIndex

SynopsisPart of a series, which provides concise introductions to major writers focusing equally on their life and works. Often seen as the quintessential Victorian novelist, Charles Dickens is without doubt a literary giant. This book provides a short introduction to Dickens's work and the personal and social context in which it was written., 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.>, 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.

LC Classification NumberPR4581