Born in 1812 in Portsmouth, England, Charles Dickens wrote a large collection of novels
and short stories that greatly impacted English society at the time. His satirical depictions of the inefficiencies of the English court system and businesses gave a new perspective to readers unused to such candor. In addition, his inclusion of the London lower classes and their shocking living conditions opened the eyes of many of his readers, including Queen Victoria.
From Oliver Twist to A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens’ wit, extensive vocabulary, and masterful arrangement of characters and events often require a moments pause to fully appreciate his genius. His iconic opening, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times”, and characters like Ebenezer Scrooge ensure Dickens’ legacy for generations to come.
One of my all-time favorite books, Bleak House, encapsulates the best of Dickens’ plots. Considered by G.K. Chesterton to potentially be Dickens’ best novel, representing “the highest point of his intellectual maturity”, the first page still gives me goose-bumps as I read his impeccably chosen words:
“Smoke lowering down from chimney-pots, making a soft black drizzle with flakes of soot in it as big as full-grown snowflakes- gone into mourning, one might imagine, for the death of the sun.” - Bleak House
While many of his novels can seem overbearingly dark and depressing, Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities seems to break out of “these dreams of fate and failure, and with his highest voice to speak of the triumph of the weak of this world”. Published following what Chesterton considers his saddest book, Little Dorrit, written during a time of depression, A Tale of Two Cities leaves the reader saying with Sydney Carton, “I am the Resurrection and the Life”… The story describes life in London (Dickens’ “centre of the universe”) and in Paris (a city he “did not understand” according to Chesterton) during the French Revolution. Somewhat of a tragedy, though sprinkled with humor, the inspiring story is just another example of Dickens’ literary genius.
“When they took a young man into Tellson’s London house, they hid him somewhere ‘til he was old. They kept him in a dark place, like a cheese, until he had the full Tellson flavor and blue-mould upon him.” - A Tale of Two Cities
All in all, Dickens’ works bring both laughter and tears, a simultaneously tragic and comic view of 19th century English society. His use of recurrent symbolism and satire make him one of the most brilliant writers of his time.
- Beth
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