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Amazon.co.uk Review
In this remarkable new biography, Peter Ackroyd offers a different view of Dickens to that presented in his earlier study of the author. In that book, Ackroyd's attempts to mimic the voice of the great writer were highly controversial, though some saw the book as a radical re-invention of the biography form. There is no arguing with the brilliant achievement of the more straightforward Charles Dickens: Public Life and Private Passion, however; the picture of Dickens and his complicated private life that emerges is fastidiously detailed and powerfully evocative, while Ackroyd's customary skill at creating a panoply of the city of London is as dazzling as ever (London, is, in fact, the subject of another biography by the author, who is unquestionably the keenest chronicler of the city's colourful history). Here, Ackroyd attempts to peel away the mask of a man whose life was outwardly a picture of Victorian rectitude, but whose love life was as complicated (and unconventional) as any modern writer. Dickens had everything--fame, success and riches--but he died harbouring a deep sadness he had experienced all his life. He was a man of mercurial character, had enormous vitality and humour, but he also had a sense of loss and longing that would constantly appear in his work. Like many eminent Victorians, he led a double life: although he insisted that nothing in the newspapers he edited should upset his middle-class readers, he regularly indulged in dubious night-time escapades with fellow author Wilkie Collins, and, for the last 13 years of his life, kept a secret mistress.
While presenting a warm but astringent portrait of the man who (along with George Eliot) can be classed as the greatest writer of his age, Ackroyd also masterfully recreates the relationship with the actress Ellen Ternan, a strong and intelligent woman (herself the subject of a biography by Claire Tomalin, The Inviisble Woman who, like her lover, outwardly observed the proprieties while living her real life behind closed doors. Ackroyd also vividly conjures the reality of Victorian life, the issues that sparked Dickens' fervent call for social reform, and the great landmarks of the time, which profoundly affected his life and work. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
In this remarkable new biography, Ackroyd offers a different view of Dickens to that presented in his earlier study of the author. Dickens had everything - fame, success and riches. He was mercurial, had enormous vitality and humour, along with a sense of loss and longing that would constantly appear in his work. Like many eminent Victorians, he led a double life: although he insisted that nothing in the newspapers he edited should upset his middle class readers, he regularly indulged in dubious night-time escapades with fellow author Wilkie Collins and kept a secret mistress, Ellen Ternan. Ackroyd vividly conjures the reality of Victorian life, the issues that sparked Dickens' fervent calls for social reform which profoundly affected his life and work.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When you first pick up this book in a bookshop or look at it online the first thing that hits you is obviously the size of it. From beginning to end Ackroyd's "Dickens" spans 1256 pages and to read it may seem like a daunting mission. This is not the case; Ackroyd is one of the best historical-biographial writers of our time and he knows how to make sure that long does not equal tedious. For fans and students of Dickens alike every word in this biography is essential; you may even find that you wish it was longer, I certainly did. The book chronicles everything Dickens from his birth through all of his works in periodicals and theatre to his sad and sudden death in 1870. To try and list the contents of this book would make the review over 200000 words long so i won't even try, but when I say everything I mean EVERYthing is in here from Dickens's family to his railway accident, his feelings, emotions, beliefs, experiences and relationships. There are also many caricatures and photographs of Dickens's life and times included, that add delight to what is already a wonderful read. If, however, you feel that 1300 pages really is too long but you still want to read Ackroyd's version of Dickens (which you should) try the abridged 500-page tie-in version that accompanied the BBC series in 2002. If you can manage the full version, you will not be disappointed.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I know that Peter Ackroyd has researchers working for him, so I assume the facts which he offers about Dickens are true. That being so, I greatly admire the way he so brilliantly weaves his material together, creating a picture of a living, breathing man - a genius who was irritating, temperamental, likeable, egocentric, self contradictory and generally almost impossible. Not only this but he puts Dickens in his period: he shows us what public life was like at the time and sketches in many individuals that Dickens knew, lived and worked with. He suggests what Dickens might have been aiming for at various times of his life, and what he might have felt and thought. There is inevitably some guesswork in this but after all, nobody can REALLY know another person, and Ackroyd's portrait, based as it is on research, probably contains more truth than the social front Dickens presented to most of the people who knew him personally. So I do believe this is the nearest we will ever get to understanding him, and highly recommend the book. By the way, this is the abridged version, but it is so illuminating and fascinating that I will now go and investigate the longer version.
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was looking for a new Ackroyd to read when I stumbled across the only reader review of this magnificent biography - which gave a rating of one star!! I urge you not to take any notice of this curious judgement! 'Dickens' is one of the best biographies I have ever read, and a magnificent addition to Peter Ackroyd's magnificent bibliography. The writing style is wonderful, very reminiscent of Mr. Dickens himself, and the story of this great man's eventful life fascinates from beginning to end.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
'Brilliant'
Having been a Dickens fan since as along as I can remember, this book was purchased for me as a Christmas gift. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ms. Kathleen E. Raynor
The Greatest Biography?
I pose this title as a question, since I can't quite claim to have read all the others. But seriously, though, this is certainly the greatest biography I have ever read, and,... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Keith M
Abridged Ackroyd
CAUTION - THERE ARE MANY ACKROYD BIOGRAPHIES OF DICKENS - AMAZON ALLOWS ONLY ONE REVIEW PER PRODUCT
Amazon's website structure allows only one review "per book" and... Read more
Amazon's website structure allows only one review "per book" and... Read more
Published 9 months ago by RR Waller
Dickens - the greates
I love anything about Dickens and this book didn't disappoint. It was a detailed account of his life (with pictures)and times, told in an easy to read manner. Read more
Published 12 months ago by E. A. Day
Massively detailed, insightful and enjoyable
Exhaustive (and, at well over a thousand pages, sometimes exhausting) biography of possibly the greatest novelist of the 19th century. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Jeremy Bevan
Better than Dickens
I started by reading the one-star review, and I sympathise with the writer, because I know how it feels when you feel that a book stinks. Only I didn't feel it here at all. Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2010 by John Davison
What the dickens
OK, so I am only a little way into this book at the moment, but so far it seems to be that the writer spends a lot of time trying to fit parts of Dickens' early life into the books... Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2010 by bookworm
ACKROYD'S DICKENS
PETER ACKROYD on CHARLES DICKENS
Nobody could have been better equipped to write a major biography of England's greatest novelist than Peter Ackroyd. Read more
Nobody could have been better equipped to write a major biography of England's greatest novelist than Peter Ackroyd. Read more
Published on 4 Feb 2010 by Rev. R. D. Robinson
A very challenging read, but the ultimate biography
At last, after two months and 21 days of reading. There is no doubt that this biography, at 1144 exhaustively researched pages, is a monumental literary achievement. Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2009 by John Hopper
Life, Autobiography, Biography - The Links
Dickens
by Peter Ackroyd
Astonishingly detailed research managed in a most readable and page-turning style. Read more
by Peter Ackroyd
Astonishingly detailed research managed in a most readable and page-turning style. Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2009 by Mr. C. J. Heyworth
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