Mystery of Charles Dickens

The Mystery of Charles Dickens is a Book of the Year in several publications, including The Times, Sunday Times, Daily Mail, Spectator, Irish Times, and TLS. It provides a vivid and detailed account of Charles Dickens' life, exploring his creative genius, enduring popularity, and the double standards of his times.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 03 June 2021
Publisher: Atlantic Books

A Book of the Year in The Times & Sunday Times, Daily Mail, Spectator, Irish Times, and TLS.

Superb Daily Mail, Book of the Week
Brilliant The Times, Book of the Week
[A] vivid, detailed account Guardian, Book of the Week
Hugely enjoyable Daily Telegraph
Fascinating Spectator

Charles Dickens was a superb public performer, a great orator, and one of the most famous of the Eminent Victorians. Slight of build, with a frenzied, hyper-energetic personality, Dickens looked much older than his fifty-eight years when he died. Although he specified an unpretentious funeral, it was inevitable that crowds flocked to his open grave in Westminster Abbey. Experiencing the worst and best of life during the Victorian Age, Dickens was not merely the conduit through whom some of the most beloved characters in literature came into the world. He was one of them.

Filled with twists, pathos, and unusual characters, The Mystery of Charles Dickens looks back from the legendary writer's death to recall the key events in his life. In doing so, A. N. Wilson seeks to understand Dickens's creative genius and enduring popularity. Following him from cradle to grave, it becomes clear that Dickens's fiction drew from his own experiences—a fact he acknowledged. Like Oliver Twist, Dickens suffered a wretched childhood, then grew up to become not only a respectable gentleman but an artist of prodigious popularity. Dickens knew firsthand the poverty and pain his characters endured, including the scandal of a failed marriage.

Going beyond standard narrative biography, Wilson brilliantly revisits the wellspring of Dickens's vast and wild imagination, revealing why his novels have such instantaneous appeal and why they continue to resonate today. He also explores the social and cultural context in which Dickens lived, examining how his experiences shaped his writing and his views on society.

The Mystery of Charles Dickens is a captivating and insightful exploration of the life and work of one of the greatest writers of all time. It is a must-read for anyone interested in literature, history, or the human condition.

Weight: 418g
Dimension: 129 x 198 x 29 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781786497932
Edition number: Main