![]() ![]() A reference to a Dickensian situation is one which smacks of abject and unfair social conditions: the poor house and orphanages where children go hungry. I remember much of Dickens’ works as having poverty and child labour as key elements of the narratives. Similarly, the book sheds light on Dickens’ early experience of lost love and how that informed the story of David Copperfield (with Copperfield losing his first, and possibly not entirely well suited, wife – but going on to find a lasting love nonetheless). As a long time Dickens fan, it was wonderful to read about a young Mr Fagin who Dickens met early in life (while working in a boot blacking factory) and later became the basis for the well known character in Oliver Twist. There are many references along the way to the people in Dickens’ life who were later depicted as characters in his various books. The book is well researched and written, using elegant prose to tell Dickens’ story in a way which leads the reader along and keeps us interested in a fully lived life. For those who grew up reading David Copperfield, a Christmas Carol or any number of Dickens’ other classic novels, the biography provides great insight into Dickens’ life experiences which shaped his stories and characters. ![]() The colourful life of Charles Dickens is depicted by Claire Tomalin in her new biography of the great English author. ![]()
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