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'John Sutherland, sharpest and wittiest of literary commentators, turns his attention to the Inimitable, with lively results.' Claire Tomalin, author of Charles Dickens: A Life, on A Dickens Dictionary 'Sutherland, as always, wears his erudition lightly, and his love of the quirky and off-beat shines warmly through this enjoyable book, which often made me laugh aloud' Independent
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For fans new and old, an enjoyable tour through the world of Dickens in the hands of a master critic. Charles Dickens, the 'Great Inimitable', created a riotous fictional world that still lives and breathes for thousands of readers today. But how much do we really know about the dazzling imagination that brought all this into being? For the bicentenary of Dickens' birth, Victorian literature expert John Sutherland has created a gloriously wide-ranging alphabetical companion to Dickens' work, excavating the hidden links between his characters, themes, and preoccupations, and the minutiae of his endlessly inventive wordplay. Covering America, Bastards, Childhood, Christmas, Empire, Fog, Larks, London, Madness, Murder, Orphans, Pubs, Punishment, Smells, Spontaneous Combustion and Zoo to name but a few - John Sutherland gives us a uniquely personal guide to the great man's work. Excerpt: HANDS; Every Dickens novel has a master image. In Our Mutual Friend it is the river. In Bleak House it is the fog. In Little Dorrit, it is the prison. In Great Expectations it is the hand. We often know much more about the principals' hands in that novel than their faces. Who, when the name Magwitch is mentioned, does not think of those murderous 'large brown veinous hands'? Jaggers? One's nose twitches---scented soap (the lawyer, like Pontius Pilate, is forever washing his hands). Miss Havisham? Withered claws. So it goes on...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If published in 1912, a book bearing this title would have run to at least 400 pages of small print. It would clearly have been an encyclopaedia and, in the absence of any other distractions, would presumably have been pounced upon with great delight by the Dickens enthusiasts of that day with ample time at their disposal. But, in the age of kindle, standards and desires have changed. This is a small, attractive, almost pocket-sized volume, suitable for devouring in bite-sized portions on a commuter train or, in more relaxed conditions, from the depths of an armchair for a satisfying couple of hours. Dr Sutherland, adroit and savvy as ever, has come up with the ideal package for the current bi-centenary celebrations. He's delivered the goods.
In a hundred short entries running from Amuthement to Zoo Horrors, via (among other items) Bastards, Keynotes, Micawberomics, Onions, Ravens, Svengali and Trains, pleasantly embellished with contemporary illustrations, we are entertained and educated in equal measure. The style is lively. The sentences are short. So are the paragraphs. Attention is drawn to a host of items that may well have been missed in the routine perusal of a Dickens novel. Unexpected patterns are discovered. Challenging questions are abruptly posed, and -- after a moment or two's suspense or teasing -- snappy answers are usually provided. It is an engaging and invigorating encounter.
There is the odd minor lapse. Queen Victoria, we are told, is never mentioned in Dickens's fiction, although she features prodigiously in the opening paragraphs of 'Sketches of Young Couples' (1840). The author also asserts that Dickens intensely disliked both horses and horse-riders, apparently unaware of the extent to which young Boz, in the late 1830, would hire steeds from the local livery stable and, joined by John Forster, gallop off for lunch at the King's Head Inn at Chigwell, in south-west Essex -- fictionalised as the Maypole Inn in 'Barnaby Rudge' -- and back again in time for an afternoon shift at his writing-desk.
And the book does not quite live up to its title, for there are no entries under J, L, Q, U, V or X. The reader must look elsewhere (difficult, in the absence of an index) for information about Jarndyce, Lechery, Quilp, Umbrellas or Veneering (X can be excused). But take heart! There are no fewer than seventeen entries under the letter C, which obviously stands for Compensation (as well as Compeyson's Hat). A quirky, elegant and enjoyable production.
In a hundred short entries running from Amuthement to Zoo Horrors, via (among other items) Bastards, Keynotes, Micawberomics, Onions, Ravens, Svengali and Trains, pleasantly embellished with contemporary illustrations, we are entertained and educated in equal measure. The style is lively. The sentences are short. So are the paragraphs. Attention is drawn to a host of items that may well have been missed in the routine perusal of a Dickens novel. Unexpected patterns are discovered. Challenging questions are abruptly posed, and -- after a moment or two's suspense or teasing -- snappy answers are usually provided. It is an engaging and invigorating encounter.
There is the odd minor lapse. Queen Victoria, we are told, is never mentioned in Dickens's fiction, although she features prodigiously in the opening paragraphs of 'Sketches of Young Couples' (1840). The author also asserts that Dickens intensely disliked both horses and horse-riders, apparently unaware of the extent to which young Boz, in the late 1830, would hire steeds from the local livery stable and, joined by John Forster, gallop off for lunch at the King's Head Inn at Chigwell, in south-west Essex -- fictionalised as the Maypole Inn in 'Barnaby Rudge' -- and back again in time for an afternoon shift at his writing-desk.
And the book does not quite live up to its title, for there are no entries under J, L, Q, U, V or X. The reader must look elsewhere (difficult, in the absence of an index) for information about Jarndyce, Lechery, Quilp, Umbrellas or Veneering (X can be excused). But take heart! There are no fewer than seventeen entries under the letter C, which obviously stands for Compensation (as well as Compeyson's Hat). A quirky, elegant and enjoyable production.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
Concise collection of colourful comments
5 April 2012
Format:Kindle Edition
If published in 1912, a book bearing this title would have run to at least 400 pages of small print. It would clearly have been an encyclopaedia and, in the absence of any other distractions, would presumably have been pounced upon with great delight by the Dickens enthusiasts of that day with ample time at their disposal. But, in the age of kindle, standards and desires have changed. This is a small, attractive, almost pocket-sized volume, suitable for devouring in bite-sized portions on a commuter train or, in more relaxed conditions, from the depths of an armchair for a satisfying couple of hours. Dr Sutherland, adroit and savvy as ever, has come up with the ideal package for the current bi-centenary celebrations. He's delivered the goods.
In a hundred short entries running from Amuthement to Zoo Horrors, via (among other items) Bastards, Keynotes, Micawberomics, Onions, Ravens, Svengali and Trains, pleasantly embellished with contemporary illustrations, we are entertained and educated in equal measure. The style is lively. The sentences are short. So are the paragraphs. Attention is drawn to a host of items that may well have been missed in the routine perusal of a Dickens novel. Unexpected patterns are discovered. Challenging questions are abruptly posed, and -- after a moment or two's suspense or teasing -- snappy answers are usually provided. It is an engaging and invigorating encounter.
There is the odd minor lapse. Queen Victoria, we are told, is never mentioned in Dickens's fiction, although she features prodigiously in the opening paragraphs of 'Sketches of Young Couples' (1840). The author also asserts that Dickens intensely disliked both horses and horse-riders, apparently unaware of the extent to which young Boz, in the late 1830, would hire steeds from the local livery stable and, joined by John Forster, gallop off for lunch at the King's Head Inn at Chigwell, in south-west Essex -- fictionalised as the Maypole Inn in 'Barnaby Rudge' -- and back again in time for an afternoon shift at his writing-desk.
And the book does not quite live up to its title, for there are no entries under J, L, Q, U, V or X. The reader must look elsewhere (difficult, in the absence of an index) for information about Jarndyce, Lechery, Quilp, Umbrellas or Veneering (X can be excused). But take heart! There are no fewer than seventeen entries under the letter C, which obviously stands for Compensation (as well as Compeyson's Hat). A quirky, elegant and enjoyable production.
In a hundred short entries running from Amuthement to Zoo Horrors, via (among other items) Bastards, Keynotes, Micawberomics, Onions, Ravens, Svengali and Trains, pleasantly embellished with contemporary illustrations, we are entertained and educated in equal measure. The style is lively. The sentences are short. So are the paragraphs. Attention is drawn to a host of items that may well have been missed in the routine perusal of a Dickens novel. Unexpected patterns are discovered. Challenging questions are abruptly posed, and -- after a moment or two's suspense or teasing -- snappy answers are usually provided. It is an engaging and invigorating encounter.
There is the odd minor lapse. Queen Victoria, we are told, is never mentioned in Dickens's fiction, although she features prodigiously in the opening paragraphs of 'Sketches of Young Couples' (1840). The author also asserts that Dickens intensely disliked both horses and horse-riders, apparently unaware of the extent to which young Boz, in the late 1830, would hire steeds from the local livery stable and, joined by John Forster, gallop off for lunch at the King's Head Inn at Chigwell, in south-west Essex -- fictionalised as the Maypole Inn in 'Barnaby Rudge' -- and back again in time for an afternoon shift at his writing-desk.
And the book does not quite live up to its title, for there are no entries under J, L, Q, U, V or X. The reader must look elsewhere (difficult, in the absence of an index) for information about Jarndyce, Lechery, Quilp, Umbrellas or Veneering (X can be excused). But take heart! There are no fewer than seventeen entries under the letter C, which obviously stands for Compensation (as well as Compeyson's Hat). A quirky, elegant and enjoyable production.
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