# Recommend your favorite Dickens book



## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

Reading a couple of other threads here, I got to thinking about assigned high school reading that I have changed my mind about upon re-reading. One author I really disliked reading back in high school was Charles Dickens. _A Christmas Carol_ was fine, but _Great Expectations_ and _David Copperfield _were painful to get through!

But maybe I'd feel differently about Dickens now that I'm older and, dare I say, wiser. So, in the spirit of reading something I think I'll hate in 2010, please recommend your favorite Dickens book! I would consider any other than the three I've already read, (don't think I could plow through the 800-page _David Copperfield_ a second time!) but would prefer one of the more popular titles.

Thanks, KB friends!

N


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## BoomerSoonerOKU (Nov 22, 2009)

Has to be "A Tale of Two Cities".  By far my favorite book by Dickens.


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## Margaret (Jan 1, 2010)

My favorite is actually the much maligned _Great Expectations_. I even liked it when I read it in high school.


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

For me, it would be Nicholas Nickleby. I also loved Great Expectations.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I still stand by _A Christmas Carol_ being the only Dickens worth reading  I want to like _Great Expectations_ but it's hard.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

What do people think about "Bleak House?"  I'm sort of intrigued by it...in spite of my dislike of Dickens in general.  (I think he's a sadist.)


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## Varin (May 12, 2009)

DYB said:


> What do people think about "Bleak House?" I'm sort of intrigued by it...in spite of my dislike of Dickens in general. (I think he's a sadist.)


NONONONONONO

NO! Just... no ;_; Well try it, 'cause everyone is different, but I say run screaming in the opposite direction.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

DYB said:


> What do people think about "Bleak House?" I'm sort of intrigued by it...in spite of my dislike of Dickens in general. (I think he's a sadist.)


I've never read it, but the name has always been a big red warning flag for me!!!


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## thresel (Nov 3, 2008)

Definitely Tale of Two Cities.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I loved Bleak House, but I read it when I'd just started watching the BBC series in the 1980s.  It's very long, so if Dickens' lengthy works are a problem for you, then you might not like it.  I did the same with Little Dorrit . . . saw the BBC series on dvd after it won several Emmys and then I read the book on my kindle.  It's very long, just as Bleak House is.  Remember that these works were written serially for magazines.  Readers eagerly awaited the next installment.

A Tale of Two Cities is average length and concerns the French Revolution.  I didn't understand it when I read it in high school, but I want to read it again.  It's been 43 years!


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

OK, so far it looks like _Tale of Two Cities_ in the lead, with one vote for _Nicholas Nickleby_. (_Oliver Twist_, anyone?) For those who are making recommendations, would you do me a favor and say what you liked about the book? That would help me make a better choice for me. Thanks!

N


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

One of my New Year's Reading Resolutions was to read a Dickens book this month, so I'm very interested in this thread.


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## patrisha w. (Oct 28, 2008)

thresel said:


> Definitely Tale of Two Cities.


I read this book 60 years ago when I was studying in England for my School Certificate as it was called then. {For people who are not English, this was the Big Exam one had to take {and do well on } if one was planning on going to college. } Anyway, there was an assigned book by an English writer --and that's where A Tale of Two Cities came in. In addition there was an assigned Shakespeare play {Macbeth} and a couple of English poets. {We had Keats and Shelley who were always referred to as Sheets and Kelly --we were only 15! } 
I remember really enjoying A Tale of Two Cities and being really impressed by the "'Tis a far, far better thing..." speech. So, I cast my vote for the French revolution, Madam Defarge and shoemaker in the Bastille!
Patrisha


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

Thanks for the recommendations, all. Please feel free to keep commenting.



The Hooded Claw said:


> One of my New Year's Reading Resolutions was to read a Dickens book this month, so I'm very interested in this thread.


Hooded Claw, have you made a decision on which book?

N


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Neekeebee said:


> Thanks for the recommendations, all. Please feel free to keep commenting.
> 
> Hooded Claw, have you made a decision on which book?
> 
> N


I'm torn between going with "A Tale of Two Cities" which seems to get a lot of good comments, or being a weenie and playing it safe by going with "Great Expectations" which I read back in school days and found tolerable. I'm gonna start one or the other soon, since the month is almost half over.


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## Annalog (Dec 28, 2008)

I would vote for "A Tale of Two Cities". I liked it much more than "Great Expectations".


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## Pencepon (Nov 14, 2008)

Here's another vote for _Nicholas Nickleby_. In the '80s this was produced as a play, and I saw it at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. You had a choice of seeing it as an 8-hour session with a one-hour dinner break, or (I think) two 4-hour sessions on two separate weekends. I chose the 8-hour option because I lived some distance from LA and didn't want to drive there and back more than once. I loved it! The time flew by. I don't know how the actors did it, especially the ones who were on stage all the time. But it was wonderful.

Of course, this doesn't necessarily convince you to read the book. But the reason I wanted to see the play, which obviously took me some effort to do, was that I had read the book while I was in college (for pleasure, not required) and loved it. Yes, it's enormously long, but worth it.

And if you like _Nicholas Nickleby_, you would probably also like _Little Dorrit_.


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## threeundertwo (Jul 25, 2009)

Sorry I just got to this thread.  That's Dickens in the plate on my avatar.  I always have a Dickens book going.

Before I recommend any, let me put in a plug for Shmoop classics, which make reading any classic on the kindle easier and a lot more fun.  I've read a couple now and I love them.  It really is like taking a class from your favorite professor.  Unfortunately, if you just download the sample you don't get all the notes that go with it, but it's really worth the $2.49.  Please try it.  I'm not affiliated with the company in any way.  

My favorites:

Nicholas Nickelby; one of Dickens early works, it's unfettered by the Victorian morality that crept into his later books.  Lecherous men chasing younger women abound.  It has his most ironical (is that a word?) writing - the sarcasm drips from every page.  It's a book I can pick up anywhere and start laughing.  Very broad humorous style.  Some great characters, including the incredibly evil headmaster of a boys school whom you will love to hate.  There was a good movie adaptation a few years ago with Jim Broadbent in that role.  Very entertaining.

Oliver Twist; the rough story is probably familiar to you but the novel as a whole is well worth reading.  Unforgettable characters like Fagin, and a murder scene that will give you chills.  This is one of the easiest of Dickens' works to read I think, and goes along at a good clip.

A Tale of Two Cities;  I have this one on my old Treo cell phone and re-read chapters in idle moments when my kindle isn't handy.  One of the greatest masterpieces of Western Literature. 

Great Expectations; Long, and an odd story that may not appeal to every reader.
David Copperfield; Long, has some very slow sections
Little Dorrit; About 10,000 pages long and very very slow sections
The Old Curiosity Shop; Long, and also has sections that drag, but some absolutely great characters.

I love all of the last 4 but don't recommend them for a Dickens newbie.  See if you like the other books first, and then try those.

Just my opinions.


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## LindaW (Jan 14, 2009)

I am a David Copperfield fan.  I can't even begin to count how many times I've read it.  I like many of the others - but Copperfield is my all time fav.  Maybe because it was my first Dickens.....

Just a quick FYI - other than Dickens, a couple of other books that I've read countless times are "Wuthering Heights", "Heidi", "Alice in Wonderland" and "Anne of Green Gables".  When I was a teenager I didn't have much access to books, so I just read the same ones over and over.

Now, does anyone have a book - Dickens or otherwise - that you've tried to read countless times, but just can't get through it.  Mine is "Last of the Mohicans".  I'm trying again with a friend in April.  We made a pact that we would get through it - or die trying.


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## Cherie (Feb 3, 2009)

Enthusiastic vote here for Our Mutual Friend! A mystery, secret identity, mad stalker, social-climbing nitwits (who fortunately get stuck with each other in marriage), the Thames (as a character), getting rich from "dust" (trash), a lovesick taxidermist. Dickens is brilliant with names, and this book has a wonderful collection: Rogue Riderhood, Bradley Headstone, Jenny Wren, Noddy Boffin, the Podsnaps...

Plus, I first got to know the story via a BBC radio production, in which one of the main characters, John Rokesmith, was played by Michael Kitchen (recently of Foyle's War). That wonderful voice sealed the deal!


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## kblesmis (Dec 29, 2009)

A Christmas Carol is simply wonderful.

Oliver Twist should be toward the front of the list if you are trying to appreciate Dickens. It's a heart warming story with plenty of action.

For Dickens at his finest, A Tale of Two Cities. I consider it his _magnum opus_ and his Les Miserables.


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## lizzie (Jan 16, 2010)

Great Expectations here... followed closely by A Tale of Two Cities! Love the classics!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Neekeebee said:


> Thanks for the recommendations, all. Please feel free to keep commenting.
> 
> Hooded Claw, have you made a decision on which book?
> 
> N


Well, I've done non-Kindle stuff with my recreation time for a couple of days, but I've downloaded Great Expectations, and will dive into it as soon as I finish the science fiction novel I'd said I was gonna read next (probably tomorrow early).


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## PD Allen (Dec 9, 2009)

Nicholas Nickleby
Great Expectations
Martin Chuzzlewit
Our Mutual Friend
Tale of Two Cities

And The Pickwick Papers. Though it was a little slow in spots, it had some humorous moments.

I also liked the Old Curiosity Shop, though it is probably the most maudlin and melodramatic book he ever wrote.


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## strether (Dec 15, 2008)

Cherie said:


> Enthusiastic vote here for Our Mutual Friend! A mystery, secret identity, mad stalker, social-climbing nitwits (who fortunately get stuck with each other in marriage), the Thames (as a character), getting rich from "dust" (trash), a lovesick taxidermist. Dickens is brilliant with names, and this book has a wonderful collection: Rogue Riderhood, Bradley Headstone, Jenny Wren, Noddy Boffin, the Podsnaps...


I'll agree with all of the above; my favorite Dickens novel. I heard an interview with the novelist John Irving once in which he said it was the only Dickens novel he hadn't read. He said he kept a copy in every house he owned and planned to read it when he needed consolation in the face of some terrible personal tragedy.

Jim


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## cheerio (May 16, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> I still stand by _A Christmas Carol_ being the only Dickens worth reading  I want to like _Great Expectations_ but it's hard.


I agree, a classic


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I have given up on Great Expectations.  It wasn't awful, it just didn't engage me.  I couldn't empathize with Pip, in spite of the fact that I'm a big self-improvement guy myself.  I guess I just don't really understand the class system as it was practiced in that time and place!  I read the book dutifully, getting about 25% of the way through according to Kindle, then made excuses to not read for two days.  When I realized what I'd done, I decided that this was a cowardly way of telling myself I didn't really want to read it.  So I've moved onto something else.  In theory I could go back, but I doubt I will.

What's weird for me is that I read this as an assignment in school in 7th grade, and didn't feel it was a trial or burden.  Maybe knowing I had to slog through it gave me more grit.  Or maybe just the energy of youth!


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## loca (Jan 3, 2010)

The Hooded Claw said:


> I have given up on Great Expectations. It wasn't awful, it just didn't engage me. I couldn't empathize with Pip, in spite of the fact that I'm a big self-improvement guy myself. I guess I just don't really understand the class system as it was practiced in that time and place! I read the book dutifully, getting about 25% of the way through according to Kindle, then made excuses to not read for two days. When I realized what I'd done, I decided that this was a cowardly way of telling myself I didn't really want to read it. So I've moved onto something else. In theory I could go back, but I doubt I will.
> 
> What's weird for me is that I read this as an assignment in school in 7th grade, and didn't feel it was a trial or burden. Maybe knowing I had to slog through it gave me more grit. Or maybe just the energy of youth!


You know Great Expecations didn't take with me on the first try either. But I've read half and finished the second half later, and it left much better impression on me the 2nd time.


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

I'm really enjoying reading everyone's posts about their favorite Dickens books. It makes me enthusiastic about giving him another try. I think I'm going to go with _A Tale of Two Cities_, and plan on taking that at a leisurely pace, instead of trying to rush through it like I did with the other Dickens books. If that goes well, I'm going to refer back here for the next one to try!

N


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## Eric C (Aug 3, 2009)

I love Dickens, for the inimitable characterization, for the prose mastery, for the humor, and my two greatest favorites are the blackballed Great Expectations and David Copperfield, the only two first person novels, I believe.

The serious literary critics often think Bleak House is his best book. But I found it uneven with plenty of boring bits and lots of good bits. (It's 800 plus pages too, as I recall.) He really knew his subject there because he'd worked in the courts as a young man.

Nickleby, Oliver Twist--ah, fond memories for both, the former book lighter than the latter.

Skip Pickwick Papers as it isn't really a novel at all, and skip The Mystery of Edwin Drood as it was never completed (though I read it myself, and found it fascinating from a technical aspect given I write novels too, as he was moving toward the modern mystery form with it and developing a more modern, pared down style).

A Christmas Carol is very well done, more enjoyable for me than any of the thirty film versions of the story I've screened since boyhood. It has the advantage of being short, so you could limit your suffering with this one if you really hate the man.

Or go with A Tale of Two Cities, which is so un-Dickens that you might actually like it. (It's not even funny!)


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

To help my reading experience along, I've picked up the Shmoop text of _A Tale of Two Cities_ with integrated study guide. (See, I really am intimidated by Charles Dickens, even now. )

N


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## threeundertwo (Jul 25, 2009)

I think you'll enjoy the Shmoop treatment.  I like them a lot.


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

threeundertwo said:


> I think you'll enjoy the Shmoop treatment. I like them a lot.


This is the first time I'm trying Shmoop. I'm looking forward to it!

N


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## JCBeam (Feb 27, 2009)

Confused about Shmoop.  For example, Brideshead Revisited is available @ Amazon, "Brideshead Revisited: Shmoop Study Guide (Kindle Edition)".  That sounds to me like solely a study guide?  I'm not looking for Shmoop for this particular book, but just using it by way of example and the event I do find interest in using Shmoop, I want to be clear.

By the way, does one know where I can get Brideshead Revisited other than Amazon?  I've read there are numerous typos on the Amazon version.



Juanita


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I think the shmoop books have the full text of the original work PLUS the study guide stuff. . . .haven't had occasion to purchase any yet, but that's my impression. . . . .


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## threeundertwo (Jul 25, 2009)

There are two kinds of Shmoop books; study guides that do NOT have the text, and annotated versions that contain the full text.


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## Neekeebee (Jan 10, 2009)

For _Brideshead Revisited_ the only Shmoop volume I could find is notes only. Is the book not yet in public domain?

For _A Tale of Two Cities_, Shmoop had both notes only and text with notes. Since I already had the Kindle book, I originally thought I would just get Shmoop's notes-only version. I downloaded samples of both, but found the integrated text version to be easier to use so wound up getting that one. For example, reading the notes-only sample straight through, I stumbled upon a comment about the ending!!!  (Luckily, none of the characters' names meant anything yet, so I was able to quickly forget what was mentioned. )

N


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## Lionspaw (Jan 4, 2010)

I watched _Bleak House _ and _David Copperfield _ on Netflix, so as for my first Kindle book I chose _Great Expectations_. I think that it is an engaging story, but it has been slow going because the sentence structure is so different from what I am used to reading, and also there is vocabulary which has meanings not in the K dictionary. Nevertheless, I'm at last 90% through and am glad to have read it. But I think I'll take a break for now from Dickens and go for something more modern.


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