
What was it like to be Charles Dickens? His letters are the nearest we can get to a Dickens autobiography: vivid close-up snapshots of a life lived at maximum intensity. This is the first selection to be made from the magisterial twelve-volume British Academy Pilgrim Edition of his letters. From over fourteen thousand, four hundred and fifty have been cherry-picked to give readers the best essence of 'the Sparkler of Albion'. Dickens was a man with ten times the energy of ordinary mortals. There seem to have been twice the number of hours in his day, and he threw himself into letter-writing as he did into everything else. This eagerly awaited selection takes us straight to the heart of his life, to show us Dickens at first hand. Here he is writing out of the heat of the moment: as a novelist, journalist, and magazine editor; as a social campaigner and traveller in Europe and America, and as friend, lover, husband, and father. Reading and writing letters punctuated the rhythms of Dickens's day. 'I walk about brimful of letters', he told a friend. He claimed to write 'at the least, a dozen a day'. Sometimes it was a chore but more often a pleasure: an outlet for high spirits, sparkling wit, and caustic commentary - always as seen through his highly individual and acutely observing eye. Whether you dip in or read straight through, this selection of his letters creates afresh the brilliance of being Dickens, and the sheer pleasure of being in his company.
This collection investigates the personal and professional life of Charles Dickens through the primary lens of his own correspondence. Editor Jenny Hartley utilizes the comprehensive twelve-volume Pilgrim Edition to curate a representative selection of letters that capture the intensity and breadth of Dickens's daily existence. By organizing these documents, the book argues that his letters function as an informal autobiography, revealing the man behind the public persona of the Victorian novelist.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars and readers recognize this volume as a highly accessible entry point into the massive corpus of Dickens's private writings. Experts highlight the editorial precision of Hartley in distilling the vast Pilgrim Edition into a manageable and engaging format for general readers.
Page Count:
495
Publication Date:
2012-01-01
Publisher:
OUP Oxford
ISBN-10:
0191635847
ISBN-13:
9780191635847
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