Critical Companion to Charles Dickens - A Literary Reference to His Life and Work

Sep 18, 2026

Upload by Ivy

Critical Companion to Charles Dickens is a literary reference that assembles structured entries covering Charles Dickens’s biography, his major and minor works, and related people, places, and topics. It positions Dickens within Victorian cultural life, explains how adaptations shaped public perception, and outlines scholarly approaches developed from early neglect to later critical recovery. The book includes bibliographical references and an index, with a chronology and curated sources that support in-depth study.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages689

Reading Time17 h 41 min

AccessFree to download

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I: Biography

Part II: Works A–Z

Major Works

Minor Works

Part III: Related People, Places, and Topics

Part IV: Appendices

Chronology of Dickens’s Life and Major Works

Dickens’s Major Works

Secondary Source Bibliography

Index

CRITICAL COMPANION TO Charles Dickens A Literary Reference to His Life and Work PAUL DAVIS Critical Companion to Charles Dickens Copyright © 2007, 1999 by Paul Davis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact: Facts On File, Inc. An imprint of Infobase Publishing 132 West 31st Street New York NY 10001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Davis, Paul B. (Paul Benjamin), 1934– Critical companion to Charles Dickens : a literary reference to his life and work / Paul Davis.—Rev. ed. [p. cm](p. cm). Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-8160-6407-5 (hc : alk. paper) 1. Dickens, Charles, 1812–1870—Criticism and interpretation—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title. PR4588D37 2006 823’.8—dc22 2006003026 Facts On File books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk quantities for businesses, associations, institutions, or sales promotions. Please call our Special Sales Department in New York at (212) 967-8800 or (800) 322-8755. You can find Facts On File on the World Wide Web at [http://www.factsonfile.com](http://www.factsonfile.com) Text design by Erika K. Arroyo Cover design by Cathy Rincon/Anastasia Plé Printed in the United States of America VB Hermitage 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper. For Benjamin, Kate, and Joshua CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Introduction ix Part I: Biography 1 Part II: Works A–Z 11 Major Works 13 Barnaby Rudge 15 The Battle of Life 31 Bleak House 34 The Chimes 61 A Christmas Carol 66 The Cricket on the Hearth 73 David Copperfield 77 Dombey and Son 103 Great Expectations 126 Hard Times 148 The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain 161 Little Dorrit 167 Martin Chuzzlewit 191 The Mystery of Edwin Drood 217 Nicholas Nickleby 230 The Old Curiosity Shop 253 Oliver Twist 271 Our Mutual Friend 290 The Pickwick Papers 316 A Tale of Two Cities 346 Minor Works 365 Part III: Related People, Places, and Topics 463 Part IV: Appendices 637 Chronology of Dickens’s Life and Major Works 639 Dickens’s Major Works 643 Secondary Source Bibliography 644 Index 655 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Ihave relied on the work of innumerable scholars and critics in developing the entries for Critical Companion to Charles Dickens. Some of my debts are acknowledged in the text, but many more are silent, even unrecognized. I am particularly grateful to generations of Dickensians, writing in journals like The Dickensian and The Dickens Quarterly, whose devotion to Dickens and his works continues to enlarge our understanding of the man, his times, and his novels. I am indebted to Bob Gish, who originally suggested this project; to Michael Fisher, who provided institutional support for it; and to two graduate assistants, Ann Grigsby and Joyce Flagg, who helped in choosing and chasing down information and in proposing approaches to various entries. I am also grateful to Gary Scharnhorst, Hugh Witemeyer, Gary Harrison, David Johnson, Pat Smith, Tom Linehan, and Bob Fleming for suggestions on particular entries, and to my wife, Mary, for her patience and for her help in preparing the illustrations. I am especially grateful to Bob Wolfe, my first editor at Facts On File, whose careful reading and thoughtful criticism did much to improve many of the entries, and to Jeff Soloway, my current editor. The inevitable mistakes and omissionsin a work of this scope are wholly my own. INTRODUCTION More than any British writer other than Shake speare, Dickens has engaged the popular imagination with his crowded gallery of memorable characters and his detailed rendering of the life of his times. His stories and people are familiar even to th

FAQs

What does Critical Companion to Charles Dickens cover?

It provides a literary reference to Dickens’s life and work, organizing material by biography, works A–Z, and related people, places, and topics.

Why is historical context important for reading Dickens?

The book explains that Dickens drew on real people and real London settings, so understanding the Victorian context helps interpret his life and novels.

How did adaptations affect public understanding of Dickens’s novels?

It describes how stage adaptations quickly followed the monthly publications and how later cinematic and television versions, along with retellings and piracy, sometimes produced ideas about the novels that differ from the original texts.

Sep 18, 2026

Upload by Ivy