A Companion to Charles Dickens
Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture
1. Auflage April 2011
534 Seiten, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Kurzbeschreibung
Now in paperback, A Companion to Charles Dickens concentrates on the historical, ideological, and social forces that defined Dickens's world. This work traces the development of Dickens's career as a journalist and novelist and includes original essays by leading Dickensian scholars on each of Dickens's fifteen novels. The Companion explores a broad range of topics, including criticisms of his novels, the use of history and law in his fiction, language, and the effect of political and social reform.
A Companion to Charles Dickens concentrates on the historical, ideological, and social forces that defined Dickens's world.
* Puts Dickens's work into its literary, historical, and social contexts
* Traces the development of Dickens's career as a journalist and novelist
* Includes original essays by leading Dickensian scholars on each of Dickens's fifteen novels
* Explores a broad range of topics, including criticisms of his novels, the use of history and law in his fiction, language, and the effect of political and social reform
* Examines Dickens's legacy and surveys the mass of secondary materials that has been generated in response and reverence to his writing
Notes on Contributors.
Preface.
Acknowledgments.
Abbreviations.
Part I Perspectives on the Life.
1 A Sketch of the Life (Michael Allen).
2 Dickens's Use of the Autobiographical Fragment (Nicola Bradbury).
3 "Faithfully Yours, Charles Dickens": The Epistolary Art of the Inimitable (David Paroissien).
4 Three Major Biographies (Catherine Peters).
Part II Literary/Cultural Contexts.
5 The Eighteenth-century Legacy (Monika Fludernik).
6 Dickens and the Gothic (Robert Mighall).
7 Illustrations (Malcolm Andrews).
8 The Language of Dickens (Patricia Ingham).
9 The Novels and Popular Culture (Juliet John).
Part III English History Contexts.
10 Dickens as a Reformer (Hugh Cunningham).
11 Dickens's Evolution as a Journalist (John M. L. Drew).
12 Dickens and Gender (Natalie McKnight).
13 Dickens and Technology (Trey Philpotts).
14 Dickens and America (1842) (Nancy Aycock Metz).
15 Dickens and Government Ineptitude Abroad, 1854-1865 (Leslie Mitchell).
16 Dickens and the Uses of History (John Gardiner).
17 Dickens and Christianity (Valentine Cunningham).
18 Dickens and the Law (Jan-Melissa Schramm).
Part IV The Fiction.
19 The Pickwick Papers (David Parker).
20 Oliver Twist (Brian Cheadle).
21 Nicholas Nickleby (Stanley Friedman).
22 The Old Curiosity Shop (Gill Ballinger).
23 Barnaby Rudge (Jon Mee).
24 Martin Chuzzlewit (Goldie Morgentaler).
25 Dombey and Son (Brigid Lowe).
26 David Copperfield (Gareth Cordery).
27 Bleak House (Robert Tracy).
28 Hard Times (Anne Humpherys).
29 Little Dorrit (Philip Davis).
30 A Tale of Two Cities (Paul Davis).
31 Great Expectations (Andrew Sanders).
32 Our Mutual Friend (Leon Litvack).
33 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Simon J. James).
Part V Reputation and Influence.
34 Dickens and the Literary Culture of the Period (Michael Hollington).
35 Dickens and Criticism (Lyn Pykett).
36 Postcolonial Dickens (John O. Jordan).
Index.
"Several of these pieces should be indispensable reading for undergraduates... Each of the three Companions to Charles Dickens now available is a valuable resource for students, but Paroissien's is certainly the richest, and-- with simultaneous electronic publication- likely to be of most immediate and beneficial assistance to students." (Notes and Queries, March 2010)
