This long-awaited biography, twenty years after the last major account, uncovers Dickens the man through the profession in which he excelled. Drawing on a lifetime's study of this prodigiously brilliant figure, Michael Slater explores the personal and emotional life, the high-profile public activities, the relentless travel, the charitable works, the amateur theatricals and the astonishing productivity. But the core focus is Dickens' career as a writer and professional author, covering not only his big novels but also his phenomenal output of other writing - letters, journalism, shorter fiction, plays, verses, essays, writings for children, travel books, speeches, and scripts for his public readings, and the relationships among them. Slater's account, rooted in deep research but written with affection, clarity, and economy, illuminates the context of each of the great novels while locating the life of the author within the imagination that created them. It highlights Dickens' boundless energy, his passion for order and fascination with disorder, his organizational genius, his deep concern for the poor and outrage at indifference towards them, his susceptibility towards young women, his love of Christmas and fairy tales, and his hatred of tyranny. Richly and precisely illustrated with many rare images, this masterly work on the complete Dickens, man and writer, becomes the indispensable guide and companion to one of the greatest novelist.
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"'In many ways, this is an excellent book. It is clearly written, without rash speculation or amateur psychiatry. It is based on a thorough knowledge of relevant facts. The illustrations are copious, well chosen, and extremely well reproduced.' (A.O.J. Cockshut, The Church Times) 'The attention Mr. Slater gives to Dickens's less familiar writings - the short stories, journalism, and essays - is one of the things that distinguish his excellent biography... An authoritative and engaging biography.' (The Economist) 'Indispensable... Slater assembles a million accumulated details, minutely examining the genesis of each work... This is an incomparable portrait of the writing life of Dickens. Cumulatively, it is profoundly moving, chronicling the constant restless interaction between the life and work.' (Simon Callow, The Guardian) 'This book is like a cake, rich with fruit, appropriately for Dickens a Christmas cake, which will keep and be sliced into for years; or maybe, as he saw it, "the layers of red and white in a side of streaky, well-cured bacon" - white for comedy - red for mortality.' (P. J. Kavanagh, The Tablet)"
About the Author
Michael Slater is Emeritus Professor of Victorian Literature at Birkbeck College, University of London, past President of the International Dickens Fellowship and of the Dickens Society of America, and former editor of the journal The Dickensian. He has taught and continues to lecture widely in the USA, across Europe, Australasia and the Far East.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Kevin Quinn
Format:Paperback
This very readable but completely comprehensive biography, written by the foremost Dickensian doyen of our times, is an excellent and fascinating read. Michael Slater manages to cover all aspects of the amazing life of this extraordinary man, with an emphasis on the writings of Charles Dickens, without leaving reader feeling overwhelmed: no small feat! Slater's straight forward style is very accessible, and he gently helps the reader navigate the many people, places, and things Dickens encountered and influenced. Those new to the life of Dickens will be astounded by the man's energy and the scope of his actions, and those on familiar ground will appreciate Dickens's writings being placed in the context of his life and his Victorian times, so clearly and insightfully, by this brilliant scholar. A great gift for any discerning reader!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Every page of this biography, for which Mr Slater's career as a specialist in Dickens studies has been a preparation, is full of acute insight, dry humour and revelations which are the fruit of deep immersion in the sources. Mr Slater has facinating pages on the relationship betweeen Dickens and the works of his great precursor, Scott, making clear just why - and how early in his plans, however deferred - Dickens was impelled to achieve a historical novel in the style of the Wizard of the North. The Dickens novel turned out to be Barnaby Rudge, which no one thinks was Dickens greatest, though it contains great things. Mr Slater is as judicious about the life as he is about the works.
Don't bother with the Jacks (and Jills) of all trades who think they will turn their hand to Dickens having written about everyone else and sometimes everything else (yes, we mean you, Peter Ackroyd). Read Mr Slater's excellent work and then re-read the novels, starting with Great Expectations, not neglecting Martin Chuzzlewit (the funniest - and you can leave out the American chapters and come back to them when you like without missing much): then plot you own course.
Don't bother with the Jacks (and Jills) of all trades who think they will turn their hand to Dickens having written about everyone else and sometimes everything else (yes, we mean you, Peter Ackroyd). Read Mr Slater's excellent work and then re-read the novels, starting with Great Expectations, not neglecting Martin Chuzzlewit (the funniest - and you can leave out the American chapters and come back to them when you like without missing much): then plot you own course.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Marianne
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Slater's 'Charles Dickens' is well-written and informative, and the frequent notes and references strike the right balance so that the reader can check where information comes from, should they wish to; but the text can still be read without constant interruption. The narrative is clear, and discussion intelligent. This is far far better than the bitterly disappointing Ackroyd 'Dickens' with its endless (and pointless) querulous speculations ('could it be that the mouse Dickens saw disappearing into his wainscot on that fateful day, made its appearance again in Gaffer Hexam's shack in Our Mutual Friend, some twenty years later?'). Unlike Ackroyd, Slater has not yet given up bothering to write well.
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