# The Charles Dickens Thread



## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I have noticed in my travels on the web how many readers detest Charles Dickens, but every so often someone comes out in his favor. So since he's one of my mentors and I have read his entire output, I thought I'd start this little thread to discuss and perhaps encourage readers to give him a try.

What is your favorite or least favorite book by Dickens, and ell us why. What do you find unique in his writing and characterizations. If possible, I will chime in with some tidbits about the books, a few arcane anecdotes etc.

I'll begin with telling you which book I like the least. It is:

*Barnaby Rudge*

Although it is beautifully written, it was one of two Dickens attempts at historical fiction, the other being _*A Tale of Two Cities*_. Rudge has a few endearing characters, like the Vardens, but the title character turns me off, and the novel is battleship gray at times.

I believe that Rudge's essential flaw is Dickens' own ambivalence towards it. He began writing it before his more famous _*Oliver Twist * _ and_* Nicholas Nickleby * _ (my favorite) was published, shooting him to comfortable fame, if _*Pickwick*_ hadn't already done that. He set it aside and only trotted it out to satisfy a writing contract. (Reminds me of Stephen King's contract settlement for _*Pet Semetary*_). Finishing the book was laborious and it tells on the writing. Then when the publishing contract fell through, Dickens launched it as a follow-up to _*An Old Curiosity Shop * _ in his own Indie published mag _*Master Humphrey's Clock*_. The results, IMHO, produced a competent work that lacked the humor and the color of its brethren. It is the only book by Dickens that I've read only once, except the co-written _*No Thoroughfare*_ with Wilie Collins.

Edward C. Patterson


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Marley was dead, to begin with.....

I am a Christmas Carol fan.  I haven't managed to make it all the way through Tale of 2 Cities, although I have it on my kindle.  Read Great Expectations in high school and liked it.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I read Great Expectations for the first time in High Scool, and suffered through it. I then saw the film (the old one with Alec Guiness playing Herbert), and loved it. Red it again and again and even pay hommage to it in my own writing.

How many people have come to Dickens via the hundreds of film productions of the work?

Ed Patterson


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Gotta say I love "A Christmas Carol" but really can't stand anything else he's done ><


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

Loved A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations & Oliver Twist. Another favourite is a short story - The Signalman. Excellent ghost story.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Scheherazade:

Any partiular reason, and have you tried the other Christmas Novels or Books?

Ed Patterson


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## Margaret (Jan 1, 2010)

I also loved _Great Expectations_ and _Oliver Twist_. For me they were great stories filled with interesting characters. I have seen movie adaptations of both and did not really like either one. I found the books to have a sense of humor in them that was missing in the movies. For example I love the fact that Pip's sister "brought him up by hand."


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Margaret said:


> I also loved _Great Expectations_ and _Oliver Twist_. For me they were great stories filled with interesting characters. I have seen movie adaptations of both and did not really like either one. I found the books to have a sense of humor in them that was missing in the movies. For example I love the fact that Pip's sister "brought him up by hand."


The Gargary's are a wonderful invention of the late Dickens' creative mind. The subtle humor of Joe, who "she'll give you what for," and his visit to London and of course, his great, gentle and compassionate heart. The sister was brutal, but that's offset by Biddy's gentle, but firm way with the men around her. The fact that Pip and Joe fall in love with the same woman, but for different reasons is pure Dickens irony. Great Expectations is perhaps his most balanced work as a novel. And of course there's Mrs. Haversham, the model for all old dragons in genre novels, and cold, unyielding Stella. I always found it curious why Dickens named her Stella (star, which is the symbol for hope) Of course, he didn't know how to end the work. he couldn't. So he gives us those 2 endings, and one of them is hopeful, while the other is desperate. I can't think of any other major author who gave his readers a choice on how to end the book. Maybe it was never meant to end. It's one of my favorites, but not my favorite favorite, which I'll talk about in another post at another time. I just can't wait. 

Ed Patterson


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## Eric C (Aug 3, 2009)

Dickens is probably my favorite author of all.  His gift for language is surpassed only by Shakespeare and I love his humor and the grotesque characters. (I don't love the schmaltz though.) My two favorites are the first person novels: David Copperfield (Dickens' own favorite) and Great Expectations.  Nickleby is up there too.  Least favorite: A Tale of Two Cities, probably because of the lack of humor. But I've only read about half of his oeuvre.  I enjoy him so much I only allow myself one book every couple of years as a special treat.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

A Christmas Carol was a book?    I thought it was just 257 different movie versions...(Scrooged with Bill Murray being my favorite.)  

I never was much on assigned reading in high school....

Betsy


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I read Great Expectations and Tale of Two Cities in high school. Liked them both, but I didn't understand Tale very well at the time. I loved *Little Dorrit *and *Bleak House* and read both after starting to view the BBC productions shown on PBS Masterpiece Theater.


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## threeundertwo (Jul 25, 2009)

I will have to say that Nicholas Nickleby is probably my favorite.  I can open it to almost any page and start laughing at the broad irony in the writing.  I think it's the type of writing that reveals some of the themes that Dickens wanted to write about - dirty old men chasing young girls, for example - that he repressed later.  And the scenes of Dotheboys Hall and it's evil master Wackford Squeers are absolutely unforgettable.  There was a fairly good movie adaptation recently with Jim Broadbent in that role.  He was perfect, if the rest of the movie was not.

Hard to name a least favorite, possibly Little Dorrit.  It just seems to go on forever when I'm in the middle of it.  My nominee for slowest plot progress of his books.

I love so many of his books and have read most of them.  I read A Christmas Carol every year.  I probably have it nearly memorized.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

threeundertwo said:


> I will have to say that Nicholas Nickleby is probably my favorite. I can open it to almost any page and start laughing at the broad irony in the writing. I think it's the type of writing that reveals some of the themes that Dickens wanted to write about - dirty old men chasing young girls, for example - that he repressed later. And the scenes of Dotheboys Hall and it's evil master Wackford Squeers are absolutely unforgettable. There was a fairly good movie adaptation recently with Jim Broadbent in that role. He was perfect, if the rest of the movie was not.
> 
> Hard to name a least favorite, possibly Little Dorrit. It just seems to go on forever when I'm in the middle of it. My nominee for slowest plot progress of his books.
> 
> I love so many of his books and have read most of them. I read A Christmas Carol every year. I probably have it nearly memorized.


Nickleby is my favoite, but i'll blab about it later in the thread, because I love it so much and have blabbed a lot toay, I think a meal might be in order. As for _*Litle Dorrit*_, it is perhaps the hardest read. It's Dickens in transition. The other transition book is *Hard Times for These Times*, which is also a difficult read, and the darkest Dickens book with little or no humor in it. However, it is also Dickens shortest major novel (if you discount the unfinished _*Edwin Drood*_). The subtleties of _*Little Dorrit * _ are many, but there are many quiet moments in the book that can lull you off to sleep. It parllels that other soft and tender book of Dickens' earlier career, _*Dombey and Son*_.

Ed Patterson


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> Scheherazade:
> 
> Any partiular reason, and have you tried the other Christmas Novels or Books?
> 
> Ed Patterson


Nope, can't say I really find myself gravitating toward Christmas books, and it's not that it's a classic tale I grew up with or anything either. Dickens just had a sense of humor and a style in "A Christmas Carol" that I simply have not been able to find in any of his other novels, no matter how much I want to enjoy them I just can't.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Fair enough, but let me serenade you:

_"That punctual servant of all works, the sun, had just risen, and began to strike a light on the morning of the thirteenth of May, one thousand eight-hundred and twenty-seven, when Mr. Samuel Pickwick burst like another sun from his slumbers; threw open his chamber window, and looked out upon the world beneath."_

- Chapter One: _*The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club*_
Charles Dickens

Edward C. Patterson


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

I had to read _David Copperfield_ in college, and was disappointed. There was no magic in it at all. 

Just kidding.

I really like Charles Dickens. My favorite is _A Christmas Carol_.

Vicki


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Victorine said:


> I had to read _David Copperfield_ in college, and was disappointed. There was no magic in it at all.
> 
> Just kidding.
> 
> ...


"Barkis is willin'"
"Methinks he'll be gone with the ebbing tide."
"Something will turn up."
"Get those donkeys off my lawn."

Ed Patterson


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Well, I waited a day, but now for my favorite Dickens book.

_*Nicholas Nickleby*_

As a novel (structurally) it's a ramble - somewhat Quixotic, sort of Pickwick meets Oliver in shape, with the qualities of both, but excelling both. It is typical for a serial work. In the middle of it, he drops in a whole separate story about the foolish daughters, as if he needed to assured being paid by the word, but what words. The relationships and character development are phenomenal - from the pathetic, but loveable Smike, to the Brothers Cheryble, to the Dotheboy Hall group (I think Fanny Squeers is about the most hilarious caricature that Dickens had produce until we meet Flora Finching in _*Little Dorritt*_), plus the Londoners. Then Nicholas himself, the noble orphan in search of honesty, and his Uncle, a precursor to Scrooge, Chuzzlewit Sr, and Dombey, is the epitome of the villain brought down. In a canon as rich as Dickens it is remarkable how much wealth is poured into this single work. This is a young man's work about a young man and its stays fresh over the century and three quarters since it was written. If you have never been urged to pick up a work by this master crafter of the novel, you are so urged now.

Edward C. Patterson


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## A_J_Lath (Jun 6, 2010)

One thing I've always liked about Dickens is the oddly grotesque names he gives to his characters - names which, on a purely phonetic level, also seem to reflect the personalities of the characters: 'Ebenezer Scrooge', 'Micawber', 'Uriah Heep' - they seem to do what it says on the box, if ya know what I mean.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Yes, try saying Uncle Pumblechook three times fast and not get the essence of that character.  

Ed Patterson


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## Taborcarn (Dec 15, 2009)

The only Dickens I've actually read are Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol.  I plan to make up for this and read much more of his works, but there's so much else in my backlog I don't know when I'll get to it.  To somewhat make up for this, I have the Kobo e-reader software on my phone (Palm Pre) and the only book on it is Oliver Twist.  If I'm ever caught somewhere with some waiting time and no other reading material I'll get through another couple pages in that.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Hmm...I'm sure I must have had to read something other than _A Christmas Carol_ at some point in school, but I don't remember it. In fact, I don't particularly remember much about reading ACC, as in the time since then it's been supplanted in my memory by the various movie/TV adaptations I've seen. I'm fairly certain I read _David Copperfield_, but remember next to nothing about it. So I guess Dickens did not make a huge impression on me. But then by the time I was in junior high or so, I was getting heavily into science fiction, and later added epic fantasy (plus a fair amount of nonfiction WWII stuff), and I've never really gotten into "literary fiction" or mainstream dramatic fiction. So my disinterest probably has little to nothing to do with Dickens's writing ability, but what he wrote about.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Hmm...I'm sure I must have had to read something other than _A Christmas Carol_ at some point in school, but I don't remember it. In fact, I don't particularly remember much about reading ACC, as in the time since then it's been supplanted in my memory by the various movie/TV adaptations I've seen. I'm fairly certain I read _David Copperfield_, but remember next to nothing about it. So I guess Dickens did not make a huge impression on me. But then by the time I was in junior high or so, I was getting heavily into science fiction, and later added epic fantasy (plus a fair amount of nonfiction WWII stuff), and I've never really gotten into "literary fiction" or mainstream dramatic fiction. So my disinterest probably has little to nothing to do with Dickens's writing ability, but what he wrote about.


David Copperfield memory jog for nog:

*"I BITE"*



It's funny how we refer to novels today as literary that in their own day were considered "popular" reading for the masses. Twain suffers under the same "literary" label. But these were the Rowlings and Meyers of their day, only Dickens was fa more popular than Rowlins. Between the books and the readings (he invented the art of public reading), Dickens was a super-star of enormous proportion. His visits to America were once in a lifetime events.

Edward C. Patterson
Sometime this week, I will post the Dickens canon.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

I once saw an eight hour stage production of Nicholas Nickleby. Recently I ran into a movie on cable with Michael Richards (Kramer on Seinfeld) as Mister Micawber. They put in some  Kramer-ish physical comedy bits for him.
I have only read Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol, but I always think I will read more. Someday.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

The Old Vic *Nicholas Nickleby * rocks. I have it in my Dickens video collection. (There has been at least one production by the BBC of the Dickens novels, in some cases 2, and in some cases . . . well, you get the picture The rarest are *Dombey And Son * and an old B&W of *Barnaby Ridge*).* Oliver Twist*, perhaps leads the pack with seven (excluding the musical), although there are eleven *Christmas Carols, * but it's a novella, and the other 4 Christmas novels have no representation. The excellent* Martin Chuzzlewit * is shorn most of the American sections, but is still fabulous. Of the big required reading books, *David Copperfield * is poorly represented with only 4, three pretty flimsy films (although the old W C Fields one as Micawber is serviceable) and one rare treat with Maggie Smith as Betsy Trotwood and Daniel Ratcliffe (a very young Daniel Ratcliffe, pre-Harry Potter) as the younger David. Both *Edwin Droods * are recommended only for completests, but *Great Expectations * has 4 entries, including one with John Rhy-Davies as Joe Gargary. *Bleak House * has 2 magnificent renditions, as does *Our Mutual Friend*. Three *Tale of Two Cities* still leaves the Ronald Coleman one as my favorite. There are even 2 *Little Dorritts*, one that is split into 2 different films running the story from 2 different points of view. There are three *Nicholas Nicklebys*, 2 *Pickwicks*, and 2 *Hard Times for These Times*. No other author, except Jane Austen has been served so well in film, but I'll leave that discussion for when I start a Jane Austen thread.  (She's another one of my mentors, and the father of the modern novel).

Edward C. Patterson


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

I have only read two Dickens books: A CHRISTMAS CAROL and A TALE OF TWO CITIES. I loved them both. I want to read more, what would you suggest I pick up next, Ed?


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

David:

At once I would recommend Nicholas Nickleby (but unlike the two you've read, is more Dickens in length nearing the 900 page mark).

If you want a kindle bargain for $ 4.79 you can get Dickens entire works (I have this, and it's wonderful, especially since I bought and have in storage a complete 1890 limited edition in 40 volumes which cost me a nice piece of cash at Mendozas in 1964):

http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Expectations-Christmas-Copperfield-ebook/dp/B000W7KNN0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1277177060&sr=1-3

If your just Nicholas Nicklebying it - you can get that for FREE

http://www.amazon.com/Nicholas-Nickleby-ebook/dp/B000JQV5MM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1277177216&sr=1-4 (Ranks # 222 in the FREE Kindle store)

Others might recommend others for your next read, but NN is tops in my book.

Edward C. Patterson


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Did you know that Dickens patterned the character of Wilkins Micawber in *David Copperfield  * after his father, and the character of Mrs. Nickleby in _*Nicholas Nickleby * _ after his mother. He patterned the character of Little Nell in _*Old Curiosity Shop * _ after his sister-in-law, while his own pet bird served as Gip the Raven in _*Barnaby Rudge*_.

Edward C. Patterson


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Here's the promised list of Charles Dickens' canon. I hope to discuss some of these works as this thread grows:

*Fiction*
A Christmas Carol
A Message from the Sea
A Tale of Two Cities
All The Year Round
Barnaby Rudge
Bleak House
David Copperfield
Dombey and Son
Great Expectations
Hard Times
Holiday Romance
Hunted Down
Little Dorrit
Martin Chuzzlewit
Master Humphrey's Clock
Mudfog and Other Sketches
Nicholas Nickleby
Oliver Twist
Our Mutual Friend
Reprinted Pieces
Sketches by Boz
Stories About Children Every Child Can Read
The Battle of Life
The Chimes
The Cricket on the Hearth
The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain
The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
The Old Curiosity Shop
The Pickwick Papers
The Uncommercial Traveller
No Thoroughfare

*Non-Fiction*
A Child's History of England
Miscellaneous Papers
Pictures From Italy
American Notes
The Life of Our Lord

*Short Stories*
The Child's Story
A Christmas Tree
Nobody's Story
The Poor Relation's Story
The Schoolboy's Story
What Christmas is as we Grow Older
The Wreck of the Golden Mary
Doctor Marigold
George Silverman's Explanation
Going into Society
The Boots at the Holly Tree Inn
The Holly Tree
The Lamplighter
The Haunted House
Mrs. Lirriper's Legacy
Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings
Mugby Junction (Novella)
The Perils of Certain English Prisoners
The Seven Poor Travellers
Sketches of Young Couples
Sketches of Young Gentlemen
Somebody's Luggage
Sunday Under Three Heads
To Be Read At Dusk
Tom Tiddler's Ground
The Signal-Man
The Trial For Murder

Edward C. Patterson


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

For readers who have pigeonholed Dickens into the category of a stuffy old Victorian author who wrote by the word and created a webwork of illogical plots and implausible characters, you would be in for a rude awakening if you cracked open his most passive novel - _*Dombey and Son*_. We often think of the famous death of Little Nell in _*An Old Curiosity Shop * _ as being the epitome of pathos, but you haven't encountered the depths of emotional wrting until you read the death of Paul Dombey midway through _*Dombey and Son*_. Dickens and his children are a mighty blow to the conscience, whether they are Fagin's brood in _*Oliver Twist * _ or the sad, sad passing of Jo the Crossing Sweep in _*Bleak House*_. In the words of Whackford Squeers in _*Nicholas Nickleby * _ about his own son's ample fat - "That's richness, that is."

Edward C. Patterson


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## JCBeam (Feb 27, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> Here's the promised list of Charles Dickens' canon. I hope to discuss some of these works as this thread grows:


Thanks for the list and looking forward to discussions!


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## Paegan (Jul 20, 2009)

Over the years, I have tried to like Dickens. In school I had to read _Great Expectations_ and _David Copperfield_. I've purchased _Nicholas Nickleby_ and _The Olde Curiosity Shop_ to read on my own. But _gawd_, it is just me or is Dicken's the *King of the Run On Sentence?* Drives me bonkers - one sentence is a paragraph long and by the time I'm to the end, I've forgotten what he was going on about.


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## askenase13 (Mar 1, 2009)

I believe that the 8-hour stage priduction of Nicholas Nickleby will be in NY this coming season.  I'm going to try and see it.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Paegan said:


> Over the years, I have tried to like Dickens. In school I had to read _Great Expectations_ and _David Copperfield_. I've purchased _Nicholas Nickleby_ and _The Olde Curiosity Shop_ to read on my own. But _gawd_, it is just me or is Dicken's the *King of the Run On Sentence?* Drives me bonkers - one sentence is a paragraph long and by the time I'm to the end, I've forgotten what he was going on about.


Well, he got paid by legnth (serial novels), but that was the style in Victorian England. Plus Dickens is not a schooled novelist (much like Twain). He learned his craft while being a reported (see _*Sketches by Boz*_), and that's the style. He matures as he goes forward and is affected and affects other authors. What Mrs. Murphy Fitzpatrick McSimmons, the Grade School grammarian calls a run on sentence, is not an illegality for authors, even in the 20th Century. Many KB authors use them (as do I). Virginia Woolf could write a full paragraph in one sentence and that paragraph could span two pages. William Makepiece Thackeray one said that his daughter asked him: "Papa, why can't you write like Mr. Dickens?" W.S. Gilbert referred to both authors in his libretto to Patience as prime ingredients to make a sturdy British soldier (a dragoon). "The narrative powers of Dickens and Thackeray." Sometimes one needs to acclimatize to an author's style. It took me a while to acclimatize to Rowling's use of passive dialogue tags, and I have never acclimatized myself to Meyers'' first person present tense. 

Edward C. Patterson


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

One delightful aspect of _*Nicholas Nickleby * _ that I failed to mention is his and Smike's sojourn with the Mr. Vincent Crummles' (acting troop). Dickens was an amateur actor and his love for the provincial theater and his firsthand experience gave us a wonderful, and hysterical view of performing troops in early Victorian England. It's worth the price of the book.

Edward C. Patterson


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## dnagirl (Oct 21, 2009)

I believe I've made my personal views on Dickens very clear to you.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Yes, you said that he's your favorite author and you read him exclusively.  

Ed Patterson


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## Guest (Jun 24, 2010)

OUR MUTUAL FRIEND

I found something brilliant on virtually every single page, and that was shocking considering it has almost 800 pages. I've also read Great Expectations and liked that too. Been meaning to dig up a few more. Haters, you say? Sure, people might not like the writing style, but it's hard to find fault with his story telling or creativity.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I love the Boffins and that big story twist and the subplot between Lizzie and the school teacher is wonderful. Of course, Dickens even had a gay character (I'm of that ilk), one of several in his books, which he hides in innuendo - of course I speak of Lawyer Mortimer. 

Ed Patterson


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## Guest (Jun 25, 2010)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> I love the Boffins and that big story twist and the subplot between Lizzie and the school teacher is wonderful. Of course, Dickens even had a gay character (I'm of that ilk), one of several in his books, which he hides in innuendo - of course I speak of Lawyer Mortimer.
> 
> Ed Patterson


I love the school teacher when she's quizzing her pupil about what it means that her love interest doesn't have a wedding ring. Such good satire! I bet there was plenty of junk teaching like that going on back then.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Yes, in _*Our Mutual Friend * _ we have a psychological study in obsession with the character of Bradley Headstone (dontcha love Dickens character names) as he goes from stuffy school teacher to a murderous course.

Ed Patterson


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

There's an "all Dickens all the time" omnibus on Amazon isn't there?  Is it well priced?  Does it have an active ToC to the various novels?  I have Shakespeare.  I should have Dickens.   I should read more, though I've read Twist, Expectations, Two Cities, Christmas Carol, the one about the never ending lawsuit which title escapes me at the moment. . . .probably others, too, that I can't recall right now.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

the one about the never ending lawsuit
--

That seems to be _Bleak House._

That comment reminded me of a book I read some years ago, _The Quincunx,_ by Charles Palliser. It is very Dickensian, set in the time of Dickens (or perhaps a little earlier) and with a huge cast. It is about another legal matter, the inheritance of an estate that takes decades to decide.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> There's an "all Dickens all the time" omnibus on Amazon isn't there? Is it well priced? Does it have an active ToC to the various novels? I have Shakespeare. I should have Dickens.  I should read more, though I've read Twist, Expectations, Two Cities, Christmas Carol, the one about the never ending lawsuit which title escapes me at the moment. . . .probably others, too, that I can't recall right now.


Mobilereference Complete Dickens with full linked TOC (recommended) http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Expectations-Christmas-Copperfield-ebook/dp/B000W7KNN0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1277177060&sr=1-3

Yes, _*Bleak House * _ - a masterpiece. (I love the caged birds, each with a name, let loose when the case is finished).

_*Bleak House*_ trivia: Dickens had grown so secure as an author by the time he tangled with Bleak House that he was able to switch points of view and modes for the last third of the book from 3rd person omniscient to 1st person limited, the last thrid narrated by Esther Summerson. I also love the early Sherlock Holmesing in the character of Natchett.

Ed Patterson


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## Eric C (Aug 3, 2009)

It was Dickens' early years as a shorthand freelance reporter in the civil law courts that informed Bleak House.  Most high falutin' literary critics consider it his best work.  There are lots of great bits in it, but I much prefer Copperfield and Great Expectations.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Eric C said:


> It was Dickens' early years as a shorthand freelance reporter in the civil law courts that informed Bleak House. Most high falutin' literary critics consider it his best work. There are lots of great bits in it, but I much prefer Copperfield and Great Expectations.


Another character from Duckens early days as a freelance reporter is Newman Noggs, from _*Nicholas Nickleby*_, who is base on Newman Knotts, a failed farmer who he met in those early years.

Ed Patterson


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Dickens has been castigated by 20th and 21st Century readers for leaving characters devoid of a complete arc other than the protagonist. Even then. One commentator said the David Copperfield as a character is as mushy and maudlin as hot water on mouldy bread. However, there are many characters that take the journey. For example, poor Richard Carstone in _*Bleak House*_, who is optimistic and looking for a career - any career while he waits for the fortune from the law suit to come his way. As Miss Flit says, "a ward in the case of Jandyce vs. Jandyce," an honored individual, indeed. Dickens takes this impressionable man and inculcates him with an obsession and ill-direction that ultimately destroys him. This is just one of hundreds of character arcing that Dickens has given to us.

Ed Patterson


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## patrisha w. (Oct 28, 2008)

This is a fascinating thread! I am learning a lot.  

Back in the days when I was a student in England, we had big, scary exams for what was then called the School Certificate. {I dunno what it is called these days since I left the UK in 1963...} Anyway, in literature we were assigned a Shakespeare play, a couple of English poets and a Dickens novel. My year had Macbeth, Keats and Shelley and A Tale of Two Cities.
Despite essays I was forced to write about it, I still like this book!

This thread is getting me interested in others. 

Patrisha


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

It's a far, far better thread since you've visited, Patrisha. I'll try to keep it fresh as a daisey.

Ed Patterson


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## dnagirl (Oct 21, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> Yes, you said that he's your favorite author and you read him exclusively.
> 
> Ed Patterson


I've tried multiple times, and I will continue to try multiple times (I think I've got about six of his books on my Kindle) because I am a glutton for punishment.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

"Please, sir, I want so \me more."


Ed Patterson


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## HelenSmith (Mar 17, 2010)

I have read most of his - not the Pickwick Papers.  Not Nicholas Nickleby.  But most of the rest. I love Our Mutual Friend, I think it's my favourite. It's very funny. I'll have to go and have another look at Mortimer, Ed!

The BBC adaptation of Bleak House was fantastic. Did you see it? You get all the brilliant English character actors stepping out for those programmes and they do a good job of it.  There's a general view that the BBC can only do 'bonnets' and that's why they're so popular.  What the programme-makers don't get is that people like serials and most TV over here does not cater for that.  David Simon is the Charles Dickes of his time and is cutting out the middle man and making novels for the small screen.  But I digress...

I love Charles Dickens.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Yes, Helen, I saw it and it was far better than their first attempt. As I mentioned above I have a complete collection of Dickens on VHS and DVD (as I also have Austen, which is huge). Might I recommend _*Martin Chuzzlewit * _ to you, a BBC production that takes this Masterpiece (yes, I said Masterpiece) and finally gives its moment in the sun.Nothing beats Peckniff's comeuppance!

Ed Patterson


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## lisat (Jun 28, 2010)

Okay, I'm an abject Dickens junkie/groupie/crazier-than-an-Italian-soccer-fan about Dickens. The main character in my novel, Verdi's Dream, devotes a good part of one chapter talking about the life-enhancing spirit of Dickens; I love biographies of Dickens as well, I love his style, love his narratives (so unapologetically, unabashedly un-minimalist)and especially and forever love his so so human characters. You could say my life's philosophy has been based on 'Something's bound to turn up.'

I am a very new Indie author just published on Kindle and Smashwords, just learning about this wonderful world and eager to know, for example, how to adhere to Ed's initiative of books for our men in the armed forces. I use Amazon Kindle discussion groups a lot, am completely inept at Facebook and Tweeter (though I do try, and boldly push all buttons), and this is my first post on Kindleboards and couldn't resist the Dickens stuff. Please tell me if this is the appropriate venue to 'be an author' and mention my novel--it's historical fiction--or if not, where to go? I see Ed's name everywhere, what great energy!


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Great, Lisa. Your contributions will be wonderful here on the Dickens thread. Generally, in the book corner we shed our author _persona _ (except for our signature lines), and avoid mentioning our books. Let me invite you to open a thread on your book over at the Book Bazaar. However, like myself, Dickens' impact on our writing styles are _on topic _ here, and any discussion on his technique and character development is most welcome. Examples from our own books, however, _alas _ would be infringing on Kindleboard guidelines.

Again, welcome, welcome.  

Ed Patterson


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Today's a Chuzzlewit day. To those who haven't read Martin Chuzzlewit, take a peak at it and especially enjoy the sombre cast of this finely derived family of deep characters. Martin senior (a chameleon of gray and brown), Martin junior (a blend of angst, honor, nobility and self-surpressed pride), Anthony (a precursor to Scrooge) and Jonas (a bigger villain we haven;t seen since Quilp). Like all great Dickens work, money and its abuse and proper, charitable application is the root theme. Perhaps it cut too close to the bone for Victorian tastes, because although not a flop, it certainly lagged behind its sister works. Today we can appraise it for the masterpiece that it is. Chuzzlewit it today. 

Edward C. Patterson


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## TheSeagull (Oct 25, 2009)

Currently reading Hard Times. It's an interesting but slow read.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

TheSeagull said:


> Currently reading Hard Times. It's an interesting but slow read.


Funny how his shortest novel is the slowest to read - also the darkest. Dickens said of _*Hard Times for These Times*_, "In this, I strike my heaviest blow." Perhaps his darkest work and besides Edwin Drood, a-typical of Dickens lacking humor.

Edward C. Patterson


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Just a reminder - there's lots of reading in the thar Dickens books.  

Ed Patterson


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## pdallen (Aug 3, 2010)

I've read all of Dickens. My favorite is Nicolas Nickleby, followed by Our Mutual Friend and the rest of his ouvre. I even liked Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe, which many readers found to be too melodramatic.

The only book by Dickens that I couldn't finish was Barnaby Rudge. You've already done an excellent job of analyzing that book's failure. Dicken's probably should have left it unfinished. But I have to take my hat off to him for persevering.


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

I only like _A Christmas Carol_. I used to like _Great Expectations_, when I was a teenager, but I had to re-read it for my college Victorian Era fiction class last year(which was 20 years between teenage reading and now), and I had a hard time getting through it. I even have _David Copperfield_ on my bookshelf, but I've never been able to get past chapter 4. I understand why they wrote these novels to be full of minutiae, since they had no real entertainment back then, but, I find it takes a lot of discipline to read Dickens, which I don't seem to have the older I get.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Try _*Nicholas Nickleby*_, you won't be disappointed.

Patterson of the Dickens Thread


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## pdallen (Aug 3, 2010)

I second that.



Edward C. Patterson said:


> Try _*Nicholas Nickleby*_, you won't be disappointed.
> 
> Patterson of the Dickens Thread


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

See, I love the minutiae -- I like a big rambly novel that I can settle into and stretch out, an expansive imagined world. 

Of the Dickens I've read, I most admire Bleak House, but I think I enjoyed David Copperfield more than any of them. Dora is just insufferable and Agnes is a paper saint, but otherwise it's practically a perfect novel to me. 

I wish just one of Dickens' love-interest heroines had had the backbone and personality of Aunt Betsy Trotwood!


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Thalia the Muse said:


> See, I love the minutiae -- I like a big rambly novel that I can settle into and stretch out, an expansive imagined world.
> 
> Of the Dickens I've read, I most admire Bleak House, but I think I enjoyed David Copperfield more than any of them. Dora is just insufferable and Agnes is a paper saint, but otherwise it's practically a perfect novel to me.
> 
> I wish just one of Dickens' love-interest heroines had had the backbone and personality of Aunt Betsy Trotwood!


I think that Bella has some of that in _*Our Mutual Friend*_, and Esther Summerson in _*Bleak House * _ certainly has backbone. However, her love-interest is strange (not her's perse, but those who love her).

Edward C. Patterson


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

Oh, I haven't read Our Mutual Friend yet! Funnily enough, I just "bought" the free version of that and Nicholas Nickleby for my Kindle this mronign, based on the recomendations in this thread.

Esther has backbone, but she's so ... closed-off, I guess. She reminds me in some ways of Lucy Snowe in Villette.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

Thalia - for a bargain $ 4.79, 200+ works of Dickens (everything he wrote) completely Indiced (as opposed to Jaundiced )

 ​ Fantabulous!!!!

Edward C. Patterson


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## pdallen (Aug 3, 2010)

My first thought on reading this was also of Bella.

And thanks for the mention of the Dickens' collection. It's definitely going onto my kindle, once I have one.



Edward C. Patterson said:


> I think that Bella has some of that in _*Our Mutual Friend*_, and Esther Summerson in _*Bleak House * _ certainly has backbone. However, her love-interest is strange (not her's perse, but those who love her).
> 
> Edward C. Patterson


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## drenfrow (Jan 27, 2010)

I've only read _A Christmas Carol_ (every year), _Bleak House_ and _Great Expectations_. Possibly _Oliver Twist_ in school but no real memory of it. _David Copperfield_ was one of the first books I got on my Kindle (no heavy book to lug around!) but I haven't read it yet.



Edward C. Patterson said:


> It's funny how we refer to novels today as literary that in their own day were considered "popular" reading for the masses. Twain suffers under the same "literary" label. But these were the Rowlings and Meyers of their day, only Dickens was fa more popular than Rowlins. Between the books and the readings (he invented the art of public reading), Dickens was a super-star of enormous proportion. His visits to America were once in a lifetime events.


I watched _Little Dorrit_ on PBS and somewhere (their website, maybe?) I read that when it was being published, it was serialized and at one point, when the ship was arriving to America with the next installment, people were crowding the docks shouting up to ship "Does little Dorrit die?" Now *that* is superstar-dom!


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

I heard that a dock collapsed when many eager Dickens readers in America greeted a ship carrying the latest issue of The Strand (may have been a different magazine.) I think some people died.


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## bsabiston (Sep 16, 2010)

I vote Bleak House


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## corporalclegg1741 (Dec 1, 2010)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> Thalia - for a bargain $ 4.79, 200+ works of Dickens (everything he wrote) completely Indiced (as opposed to Jaundiced )
> 
> ​ Fantabulous!!!!
> 
> Edward C. Patterson




I tried to buy above title from Amazon.com, but, received this message..."title not available in the United States"...
I have them all downloaded for free, but, they seem to poorly formated with pages missing and no pictures...
I

'


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

For some reason in the US Amazon pulled many of the Complete Mobileread books. Here's a fully formatted version of the complete works of Dickens for #2.99.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Charles-Dickens-Collection-ebook/dp/B004OR1N4C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1306797396&sr=1-1

Edward C. Patterson


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## Laura Lond (Nov 6, 2010)

I love, love, love Charles Dickens. This love had started long ago, when I was given Oliver Twist as a child. I still remember how anxious I was when Oliver went to return the books and Fagin's guys recaptured him. "Oh no, Mr. Brownlow will think he has stolen the books and the money and run away!!"


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## MeiLinMiranda (Feb 17, 2011)

Dickens love! What a relief to find. 

There are times when I feel as if I am the last person in the world reading him voluntarily--and not reading "A Christmas Carol," either. Hands down my favorite Dickens is "Our Mutual Friend," at once loving, dramatic, hilarious and savage. "Put another leaf in the Twemlow" vies with "Podsnappery" as my favorite bits of business from that book. So many wonderful characters, and his political/social commentary is just as accurate today as it was nearly 150 years ago; Podsnappery, sadly, is still with us, and probably always will be.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I'm a big Chuzzlewit fan. 

Edward C. Patterson
_Vive Sarah Gamp_


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## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

I read 'The Old Curiosity Shop' whilst pregnant with my first son. I think 9 months was how long it took me to read...Bless Kindle for free downloads, I do intend to read more Dickens. I actually like his essays more than the novels. I have a very interesting compilation of his shorter works that are observations on life around him in Victorian England.


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## heatherjustesen (May 5, 2011)

My first exposure to Dickens was Our Mutual Friend (excluding watching A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist, since most everyone does that at some point). I love, love, love Our Mutual Friend. I struggled through Great Expectations, couldn't finish the Pickwick Papers, but really enjoyed a Tale of Two Cities. It always takes me a while to get a feel for his stories because he's so descriptive (which I enjoy in moderation, but struggle with when there's a lot of it). But once I get into the story and have a feel for the characters and setting I tend to enjoy the rest of the story. I also think I was still struggling with the language a little at the time and would probably enjoy them more now.


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## corporalclegg1741 (Dec 1, 2010)

I bought Works of Charles Dickens (200+ works) from Kindle store...I lucked out and got it for $.99...

I started  with the novels, beginning with the Pickwick Papers...

the thing that blew away was when I started the book it was at 78%, I'm  now at Chapter 10 (app 150 pages) and its still at 78%...


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## corporalclegg1741 (Dec 1, 2010)

in the Pickwick Papers, what is the approximate age of the four main characters

Pickwick 
Snodgrass
Tupman
Winkle


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## kellymcclymer (Apr 22, 2010)

I just recently had occasion to read about Dickens' first visit to America. Despite taking two undergraduate courses in his works, and one graduate course, I had never known that American publishers were not required to honor his copyright (we were a nation of literary pirates!). Dickens grumbled about having to autograph so many copies of his books that he wasn't paid a penny for


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## anne_holly (Jun 5, 2011)

I actually really love Dickens - Great Expectations, esp. Tale of Two Cities is a fine yarn. I wrote a paper on Fagin and Riah in the context of Victorian tropes, and found them interesting. I adore A Christmas Carol.

My only minor issue is I think it was a bit unfortunate he was sometimes paid by the word - there is a bit of pruning that could have been done, in my very humble way-lower-than-Dickens opinion.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

I should get some Dickens for my Kindle, I have only read a few. I am also basing parts of a science fiction project on Dickensian England, so I should read more about it.

I just looked and found two Complete Works for Kindle. One is .99 and the other 2.99. Does anyone recommend one over the other?


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## StephenLivingston (May 10, 2011)

I liked Great Expectations when I read it as part of my undergraduate degree in English Literature at Glasgow University.  I'd read abridged versions of Oliver Twist and David Copperfield as a kid and seen several versions of A Christmas Carol on TV.  
Charles Dickens is a true great of literature worthy of all our respect.  I'd love to create some characters with the lasting appeal and widespread social integration that so many of his have acheived.  Who doesn't know who Scrooge or Oliver are even now so long after their creation?  I'm sure there are many people who have never read Dickens that are well aware of some of his characters.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

A_J_Lath said:


> One thing I've always liked about Dickens is the oddly grotesque names he gives to his characters - names which, on a purely phonetic level, also seem to reflect the personalities of the characters: 'Ebenezer Scrooge', 'Micawber', 'Uriah Heep' - they seem to do what it says on the box, if ya know what I mean.


I think that he didn't give the characters bad names, bur rather that because of his stories those names became seen as bad names. Ebeneezer wasn't a terribly uncommon name. But take the name "Elmo" - who can hear that name without thinking of the Sesame Street character? It's the same with Ebeneezer.


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## Anne Maven (Apr 18, 2011)

Great expectations and Nicholas Nickelby win hands down for me! Lovely writing and stories.


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## lolita006 (Jan 31, 2011)

i've been wanting to read a tale of two cities and great expectations. it's included in my to-read list! 

i enjoy reading classic books and hope that charles dickens wont disappoint me


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