The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens
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Review
Glorious. This is a book for which readers have been waiting for a very long time. It takes you directly, in Dickens's own words, and with incomparable vividness, into his extraordinary life and mind. The notes and editorial matter deftly paint in the background to provide a detailed and constantly astonishing portrait of one of the most interesting men who ever lived. (Simon Callow )
Among the dozens of Dickens publications connected with the bicentenary of the author's birth ... it is hard to imagine one more necessary than this (Times Literary Supplement )
glorious letters reflecting every facet of Dickens's life; should not be missed (The Sunday Times )
This is Dickens by Dickens. Whatever comes out in this bicentenary year, do not miss it. (The Sunday Times )
(Hartley's) selection is a miracle of compression and editorial tact (New Statesman )
Dickens lovers will all be grateful to Hartley for her skill and judgement. (Literary Review )
Edited with unobtrusive intelligence and insight by Jenny Hartley (The Independent )
a marvellous volume (The Scotsman )
It's a thrilling, surprisingly fresh book. (The Evening Standard )
An absolute gem ... reads better than any actual novel Dickens ever wrote ... Hartley would please a great many readers by producing a second volume from the same dragon-hoard ... A typically classy Oxford affair (Open Letters )
Among the dozens of Dickens publications connected with the bicentenary of the author's birth ... it is hard to imagine one more necessary than this (Times Literary Supplement )
glorious letters reflecting every facet of Dickens's life; should not be missed (The Sunday Times )
This is Dickens by Dickens. Whatever comes out in this bicentenary year, do not miss it. (The Sunday Times )
(Hartley's) selection is a miracle of compression and editorial tact (New Statesman )
Dickens lovers will all be grateful to Hartley for her skill and judgement. (Literary Review )
Edited with unobtrusive intelligence and insight by Jenny Hartley (The Independent )
a marvellous volume (The Scotsman )
It's a thrilling, surprisingly fresh book. (The Evening Standard )
An absolute gem ... reads better than any actual novel Dickens ever wrote ... Hartley would please a great many readers by producing a second volume from the same dragon-hoard ... A typically classy Oxford affair (Open Letters )
Product Description
What was it like to be Charles Dickens? His letters are the nearest we can get to a Dickens autobiography: vivid close-up snapshots of a life lived at maximum intensity. This is the first selection to be made from the magisterial twelve-volume British Academy Pilgrim Edition of his letters. From over fourteen thousand, four hundred and fifty have been cherry-picked to give readers the best essence of 'the Sparkler of Albion'. Dickens was a man with ten times the energy of ordinary mortals. There seem to have been twice the number of hours in his day, and he threw himself into letter-writing as he did into everything else. This eagerly awaited selection takes us straight to the heart of his life, to show us Dickens at first hand. Here he is writing out of the heat of the moment: as a novelist, journalist, and magazine editor; as a social campaigner and traveller in Europe and America, and as friend, lover, husband, and father. Reading and writing letters punctuated the rhythms of Dickens's day. 'I walk about brimful of letters', he told a friend. He claimed to write 'at the least, a dozen a day'. Sometimes it was a chore but more often a pleasure: an outlet for high spirits, sparkling wit, and caustic commentary - always as seen through his highly individual and acutely observing eye. Whether you dip in or read straight through, this selection of his letters creates afresh the brilliance of being Dickens, and the sheer pleasure of being in his company.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book gives an insight into the life of one of our greatest writers.we think we have busy lives yet Dickens never stopped regularly writing anywhere up to twenty letters a day,travelling all over the country,walking daily distances of twenty miles plus ,raising a large family and oh yes writing a few books !
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
Beaten with a Sledge-Hammer
12 May 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The sparkling letters of a great author are always well worth reading. This is especially true of Charles Dickens who was an incessant traveler, kind friend to many, and a close observer of the social issues of his age. Not to mention often funny.
Here one can glean insights on writing for publication, on forms of thank you and bereavement notes, on career advice, on travel, and on direct but polite ways to say no.
In these letters one often comes across the unexpected line that makes reading a joy. For example, from a letter dated November 5, 1841, "In this kind of work the object is,--not to tell everything, but to select the striking points and beat them into the page with a sledge-hammer."
Those interested in obtaining a biography of Charles Dickens have many excellent options. One from last year, on his early years, that I would recommend is "Becoming Dickens" by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst.
Here one can glean insights on writing for publication, on forms of thank you and bereavement notes, on career advice, on travel, and on direct but polite ways to say no.
In these letters one often comes across the unexpected line that makes reading a joy. For example, from a letter dated November 5, 1841, "In this kind of work the object is,--not to tell everything, but to select the striking points and beat them into the page with a sledge-hammer."
Those interested in obtaining a biography of Charles Dickens have many excellent options. One from last year, on his early years, that I would recommend is "Becoming Dickens" by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst.
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