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Charles Dickens

A

Andrew489

New Member
I read Oliver Twist today and fell in love with the book, and the author himself. Astounding work, what do you think?
 
I have read several of Dickens novels: David Copperfield and Great Expectations being among my favorites.

I read my first Dickens 4-5 years ago, until then I had only known the stories through TV-adaptions. I am Danish, so reading Dickens was not included in my obligatory childhood school time reading.


I was quite surprised to learn how funny Dickens is! I was laughing out loud while reading. Especially David Copperfield. I had always thought it was sad, dismal, social realism.
Oh! And I love his names: Mr. Squeers, Uriah Heep, Blunderstone, Pumblechook and my all time favorite Lord Verisopht.


Hobitten
 
I always mean to read Dickens but the amount of it is so daunting - Trollope as well - where do you possibly start?

I suppose I should feel the same about Mark Twain but so much of it was required reading from 4th grade on that he seems like an old friend.
 
Hi Ashley, I recommend you start Dickens off with David Copperfield, if you are not too intimidated with the size of the book (well over 1000 pages). It is quite humorous.

Oliver Twist is probably the most straight forward, and not quite so big.

Once you get started on Dickens, you won't stop. You will enjoy it...
 
Dickens rocks my socks off.
Tale of Two Cities is my favorite,
with Great Expectations coming in a close second.
 
Oliver Twist, the only Dickens book that I have read, is written very well, and in many places most amusing, showcasing his black humour and love of irony, but the plot is simply dire! It seems to consist of an endless sequence of an adult being mean to Oliver, Oliver crying, Dickens going on at length about what a pitiable yet angelic figure Oliver cuts and the savagery of society in general, before Oliver somehow entering into the spiteful clutch of a different adult, at which point the process renews.
 
:rolleyes: Dickens can be daunting, because of the number of characters and the length of his books. But, he has a way of capturing the human condition like no other. I can't imagine wanting to read a story about an abused and abandoned orphan, but Dickens really draws you into his story. He writes as if he's sitting next to you on a comfortable sofa just relating this tale he heard somewhere.
He's definitely one of the all-time greats.
 
I have now read all of Dickens! I started out with reading A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations, but it was when I discovered that Oxford University Press sold the complete 21 volumes illustrated set, that I went insane with Dickens! Now I collect his works, and am always rereading him. As for Trollope, start with the Warden and work your way through the Barchester Series. They are wonderful. Then dabble in some of his other single novels, and then tackle the Palliser novels. I like Trollope, but I don't find him as addicting as Dickens!
 
This thread is a little old, but hope someone is reading along.

Dickens is, to me, the ultimate fiction writer. I especially envy his ability to build subtle intriguing plotlines (they DO rely on coincidence to a degree that would not be considered acceptable today).

Most recently I read Bleak House, which might be a bit of a slog to someone not really into Dickens' style. I love it. My favorite is Great Expectations, but truly, all his books are great. I like to collect really good editions, good binding or boxed or illustrated, from secondhand book stores.

Have any of you other Dickens fans read The Quincunx by Charles Palliser? Closest thing to a Dickens in modern fiction, I think. But Palliser's other books are not half as good.

Novella
 
I've just finished Great Expectations. I love the characters in this book. I'm undecided about which Dickens book to read next. I'd like to read Tale of 2 cities, but I've heard that Oliver Twist, or David Copperfield is good as well. Ah, too many books. I might just read them all. :rolleyes:
 
Bernard,

Dickens' writing varies much, from the Pickwick Papers to Bleak House. I think the closest other novel to Great Expectations is probably David Copperfield, or perhaps Our Mutual Friend. Both have wonderful unfolding plotlines, that wonderful Dickensian rising and falling of fortunes, London settings, and great characters. Copperfield is a little more sentimental. I love Bleak House as well, and it has much in common with these other two, but you also have to have a taste for (or stomach for) legal entanglements and the characters are in some ways less compelling.

Novella
 
Dickens

I just finished A Tale of Two Cities, and thought it ws very good. Dickens definitely had an ironic sense of humor. The language reflects his time period, and there are some melodramatic elements, but it is a good story well-told nontheless.
 
I read Great Expectations way back in high school and didn't really enjoy it.Now that I'm older and have more time I've started trying to read all Dicken's work in the order they were written.I'm currently up to Barnaby Rudge (his 5th book).I find I'm enjoying each book as I go along more than the one previosly. :D
 
The Chronology idea is intriguing - will you continue to like them each a little more so that Our Mutual Friend is your favorite? Will the fact that he left Mystery of Edwin Drood drive you mad? Or will he peak at some point and will it all be downhill from there?

Though I've read and enjoyed the assigned Dickens (Great Expectations, Tale of Two Cities) I've been daunted by the number and size of his works. Some day I'll have entirely too much free time, work my way fearlessly through Dickens, and move on to Trollope.
 
I had to read several of Dickens' novels at uni. My favourite was Great Expectations. I found Oliver Twist distressing and I wasn't that impressed with Hard Times. I never actually finished Bleak House. I wasn't able to get over the several page description of the fog. Although it may sound like I dislike Dickens, this is not the case. He is a great author, who wrote about some serious social problems of the time. I appreciate his style, although feel that in the case of Bleak House his descriptions were a little too much for my liking. I just find that for me, his themes (in the books I read) were slightly too depressing.
 
My favourite Dickens' story is a short one: A Christmas Carol. I think that the idea of three ghosts showing a man his life is excellent. When you look at your life as an observer, not an active actor, you must have an entirely different perspective, probably less subjective, so less biased. ;) I love a musical based on the story: Scrooge.

The Pickwick Papers are heart-warming, funny story with an optimistic look on life, despite indicating all its drawbacks.

that's all from Dickens that I've read. I started reading David Copperfield as a child, but didn't manage to finish it and haven't tried since then.
 
I absolutely love Dickens! I have read through all his novels, though some more than others, and am on the last 100 pages of a reread of "The Old Curiosity Shop". I also just finished watching Lean's production of "Great Expectations", but I must admit I like the Masterpiece Theatre version better. For some reason Pip and Estella just seemed to old to me in Lean's version and they left out too much, like the story of Orlick and not enough of Biddy, Wemmick, etc. I hope to do a reread of "Bleak House" this coming winter.
 
Today I start David Copperfield. My last few books have been very light and fast. time to dig into something more substantial.
 
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