The great Victorian chronicler of inequality and poverty was also a tremendous – and prolific – storyteller. Here are some of the best ways in to his colossal legacy
shaped the way we see Victorian Britain. His distinctive, quirky characters – many of them versions of people he encountered – have not only endured, but given us brilliantly expressive ways to refer to people in the modern day, whether they’re an Artful Dodger, a Miss Havisham or a Scrooge.
As well as 15 novels – his last, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, remains unfinished – Dickens wrote five novellas, a number of plays and many short stories. His novels are mostly built around the aching disparity between poverty and wealth, and to this day it is hard to find a more endearing and surprisingly mobilising writer.Perhaps the most well-known of his works, Oliver Twist was Dickens’ second novel.
Not only is this novel a fan favourite, it was the author’s favourite too. In the preface to a later edition, Dickens wrote: “like many fond parents, I have in my heart of hearts a favourite child. And his name is David Copperfield.”Dickens wrote a great many short stories and some of them are among his best writing. A great place to start is The Signal-Man, one of his best-regarded short stories, about a railway worker tormented by a ghostly apparition that predicts terrible accidents.
The Signal-Man is a great example of his fascination with the supernatural – ghosts feature dozens of times in his works – though “common sense” barred him from believing and, in his surviving letters, he wrote scathingly about those purporting to have been visited by spirits. His short stories are also often where Dickens best exhibited his dry and cutting wit, and some of his satirical sketches are a great example of this. The Boy at Mugby, which is also inspired by his rail travel, is a portrait of a group of staff at the fictional Mugby station who strive for incompetence and aim to serve the worst food and drink possible.Discover new books with our expert reviews, author interviews and top 10s.
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