This book interprets a number of Dickens' works through the detailed analysis of a single characterization in each. It is mainly concerned with the textual functions of characters, i.e., with how analyses of Dickens's methods of characterization help us understand what characters do within his texts. The author presents a selective variety of major and minor characters. Included are examples from the three main periods of Dickens's career, from his non-fiction as well as fiction, and from the combination of both that is Sketches by Boz. There is an emphasis on the later books and particularly on Our Mutual Friend. Contents: IntroductionóSome Sketches by Boz; Modifying SummariesóThe Fat Boy in The Pickwick Papers; Young Bailey in Martin Chuzzlewit; Gaffer Hexam in Our Mutual Friend; NarratorsóSome Epistolary Personae; The Troubled Traveler in Pictures From Italy; The Sentimental Paternalist in A Christmas Carol; Extending the Interface: The Third Narrator in Bleak House; The Middle-aged Businessman: The Narrator of Great Expectations; Sexism and Class Bias: The Narrator of Our Mutual Friend; Two Re-readersóKnowing What Happens in Our Mutual Friend; Droodiana and The Mystery of Edwin Drood; Characterisation and Ideas in Little Dorrit: Clennam and Calvinism; Characterisation and Structure: John Harmon in Our Mutual Friend; Story and Text.

Chronicles the life of the nineteenth-century literary master from the challenges he faced as the imprisoned son of a profligate father, his rise to one of England's foremost novelists, and the personal demons that challenged his relationships.

"...Dickens was moved or inspired by the rough lessons of his boyhood, and the groundwork of the character was undoubtedly laid; but the rhetorical exuberance impressed itself upon him later, and from this as it expanded and developed in a thousand amusing ways, the full-length figure took its great charm." -John Forster, The Life of Charles Dickens, Volume I (1872) The Life of Charles Dickens Two Volumes in One (1872) focuses on the English author's life from 1812-1851. Written by Dickens' close friend and advisor John Forster, the biography provides intimate details on the development of some of the greatest fictional characters in literary history, such as David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, and Oliver Twist, as well as insights into Dickens' personal life. Volume II documents his worldwide travels, including extended time spent in Paris, Italy, and Switzerland. This biography of the classic novelist is a must-read for fans of Dickens' characters and stories, English literature, and 18th century history.

"...Dickens was moved or inspired by the rough lessons of his boyhood, and the groundwork of the character was undoubtedly laid; but the rhetorical exuberance impressed itself upon him later, and from this as it expanded and developed in a thousand amusing ways, the full-length figure took its great charm." -John Forster, The Life of Charles Dickens, Volume I (1872) The Life of Charles Dickens, Volume I (1872) focuses on the English author's life from 1812-1842. Written by Dickens' close friend and advisor John Forster, the biography provides intimate details on the development of some of the greatest fictional characters in literary history, such as David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, and Oliver Twist, as well as insights into Dickens' personal life. This biography of the classic novelist is a must-read for fans of Dickens' characters and stories, English literature, and 18th century history.

"This cheap edition of my books is dedicated to the English people, in whose approval, if the books be true in spirit, they will live, and out of whose memory, if they be false, they will very soon die." -Charles Dickens, The Life of Charles Dickens, Volume II (1874) The Life of Charles Dickens, Volume II (1874) focuses on the English author's life from 1842-1851 and documents his worldwide travels, including extended time spent in Paris, Italy, and Switzerland. Written by Dickens' close friend and advisor John Forster, the biography provides intimate details on the development of some of the greatest fictional characters in literary history, such as David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, and Oliver Twist, as well as insights into Dickens' personal life. This biography of the classic novelist is a must-read for fans of Dickens' characters and stories, English literature, and 18th century history.