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The Cambridge Companion to Charles Dickens contains fourteen specially-commissioned chapters by leading international scholars, who together provide diverse but complementary approaches to the full span of Dickens's work, with particular focus on his major fiction. The essays cover the whole range of Dickens's writing, from Sketches by Boz through The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Separate chapters address important thematic topics: childhood, the city, and domestic ideology. Others consider show more formal features of the novels, including their serial publication and Dickens's distinctive use of language. Three final chapters examine Dickens in relation to work in other media: illustration, theatre, and film. Each essay provides guidance to further reading. The volume as a whole offers a valuable introduction to Dickens for students and general readers, as well as fresh insights, informed by recent critical theory, that will be of interest to scholars and teachers of the novels. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
A mixed bag
I've read all of Dickens' novels and take a back seat to no one in my appreciation of them, but I found this Cambridge Companion less than completely satisfying. Several of the authors did a very good job of covering their assigned topics, but several others narrowed their focus too much and seemed to be straining too hard to say something original (e.g., uncovering obscure parallels between this Dickens novel and that Shakespearean play). In academia, being original is highly prized, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that this collection of essays turned out the way it did.
With roughly ten thousand pages available to draw upon, it seems like there's plenty to be said about Dickens' novels--commentary that would show more enrich the Dickens reader's experience--without becoming overly cute.
I don't mean to be unreasonably harsh. This book deserves all four stars I gave it. Still, I was hoping for something a little bit different. show less
I've read all of Dickens' novels and take a back seat to no one in my appreciation of them, but I found this Cambridge Companion less than completely satisfying. Several of the authors did a very good job of covering their assigned topics, but several others narrowed their focus too much and seemed to be straining too hard to say something original (e.g., uncovering obscure parallels between this Dickens novel and that Shakespearean play). In academia, being original is highly prized, so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that this collection of essays turned out the way it did.
With roughly ten thousand pages available to draw upon, it seems like there's plenty to be said about Dickens' novels--commentary that would show more enrich the Dickens reader's experience--without becoming overly cute.
I don't mean to be unreasonably harsh. This book deserves all four stars I gave it. Still, I was hoping for something a little bit different. show less
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Author Information
6 Works 107 Members
All Editions
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Cambridge Companion to Charles Dickens
- Original publication date
- 2001
- People/Characters
- Charles Dickens
- Important places
- London, England, UK
- First words
- PREFACE: Dickens is unusual if not unique among canonical English-language authors in remaining at once a vital focus of academic research and a major figure in popular culture. ... John O. Jordan
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Statistics
- Members
- 70
- Popularity
- 440,769
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.78)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
