Everyone in Dickens [3 Volumes]

George Newlin

Sep 1995 · Greenwood Publishing Group

About this ebook

Until now, there has never been a work on Charles Dickens which has reflected absolutely everything he published, including his journalism and collaborative efforts. And never before has his oeuvre been arranged in the strictest practicable chronological order. Five hundred twenty-eight titles are dealt with in Everyone in Dickens, a three-volume reference set including: 5,200 individual character entries in Volumes I and II; 13,000 different figures reflected in Volume III; 293 illustrations associated with the earliest issuances of the works; and a series of 12 one-of-a-kind indexes covering characters by name, characters by family relationship, all historical persons mentioned, and much more. The set was created for people--students, scholars, and just readers--who would like to be able to find beloved Dickens characters quickly, discover new ones, and have a trove of accessible data on the man and his creations from which to embark on their own explorations and develop their own conclusions. Everyone in Dickens organizes the characters and nonfictional figures created or mentioned by Charles Dickens by work and within each work by importance. There are Principal Characters, Supporting Roles, Other Characters, Walk-ons, and Spear-carriers. Only Dickens' words are used, so the reader can enjoy each character in the round. Also provided are a plot or subject summary of each work, an abbreviation key, and publication information. Volume I covers all of Dickens' works from 1833-49, Volume II covers 1850-70, and Volume III includes indexes, tabulations, and original essays. Everyone in Dickens has had the benefit of input from some of the world's most eminent Dickensian scholars, and every effort has been made to make it the state of the art within its parameters. The collection has been endorsed by the Dickens Project at the University of California and has been praised by many experts. America's distinguished Dickens biographer, Fred Kaplan, has written the foreword, and the Curator of the Dickens House in London, David Parker, has written the preface.

About the author

Charles Dickens, perhaps the best British novelist of the Victorian era, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England in 1812. His happy early childhood was interrupted when his father was sent to debtors' prison, and young Dickens had to go to work in a factory at age twelve. Later, he took jobs as an office boy and journalist before publishing essays and stories in the 1830s. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, made him a famous and popular author at the age of twenty-five. Subsequent works were published serially in periodicals and cemented his reputation as a master of colorful characterization, and as a harsh critic of social evils and corrupt institutions. His many books include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, and the couple had nine children before separating in 1858 when he began a long affair with Ellen Ternan, a young actress. Despite the scandal, Dickens remained a public figure, appearing often to read his fiction. He died in 1870, leaving his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished.