The best works of Dickens: a list of the best works, summary, reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Dickens was not only a writer, but also a critic. He created characters that the whole world knows to this day. He is considered the greatest of the Victorian novelists. Throughout the life of the writer, his work was very popular, in the twentieth century he was recognized as a literary genius. The works of Dickens are interesting to readers even now.

Biography

The birth date of the great writer Dickens is February 7, 1812. The place of his birth is England, the city of Portsmouth, which is located in the county of Hampshire. In the photo you can see his house.

Dickens attended school for some time, but the father of the future writer was in debt, as a result of which the guy had to leave the educational institution and go to work. Although he had no formal education, he became the editor of a weekly magazine and worked there for 20 years. Dickens wrote 15 novels, 5 short stories, various lectures, articles, and so on. He also sought to implement all sorts of social reforms.

It should be noted that success came to him after the publicationbook "Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club", this happened in 1836. In just a few years, Dickens became a real celebrity, he was recognized all over the world. He became famous for his satire, observation of society. The works of Charles Dickens were published every month or even every week, for the first time they became a serial publication. Thus, the writer could evaluate the reaction of readers to his works and change some character or plot development.

The popularity of Charles Dickens reached such an extent that many poor people were looking for money and people who could read each new episode to them. Dickens is a true literary colossus. His "Christmas Song" is the most popular novel and continues to inspire many people.

Early years

Dickens loved to read "Robinson Crusoe" and Arabic fairy tales as a child. He also used his childhood memories to write novels. Dickens also applied his observations, because the working class lived very poorly, and these people became the main characters in his works.

Charles had a difficult period in his youth when he had to work in a factory. This time is described in an autobiographical novel called "David Copperfield". Dickens said that no one supported him, no one gave him consolation or advice.

The writer's first love was Maria Bidnell, whom he met in 1830. However, the girl's parents did not like Charles' courtship, and they sent their daughter to Paris. In 1836 Dickens tookwife Katherine Hogarth, daughter of the editor of the Evening Chronicle.

Dickens was a very successful writer. Victoria, Queen of England, read his Oliver Twist and then The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. His other works also found success.

From 1846 to 1870

When Dickens went to Paris, he met French famous writers there, including Victor Hugo. During this period, one of the best works of Dickens, "David Copperfield", was written. The novel was published, was a success, and many scholars now consider it to be an autobiography.

In 1851, the author moved to Tavistock House, and also began to collaborate on an ongoing basis with the playwright Wilkie Collins. In 1857, he hired professional actresses to stage a production based on a work he had written with Collins. One of the actresses was Ellen Ternan, Dickens fell in love with her without memory. He was 45 years old at that time, and she was 18. He decided to divorce his wife. Katherine left, taking the baby with her.

In 1859 he wrote "A Tale of Two Cities", 2 years later - "Great Expectations". These two works were a resounding success. In 1860, Dickens burned many of his letters to Ellen, and she did the same. Therefore, it is still not known for sure whether there was any relationship between them.

Dickens became interested in paranormal phenomena to such an extent that he was one of the first to join a research organization dedicated to their study. When he returned from Paris in 1865,then there was a road accident. Dickens used this experience for a ghost story.

The great writer died on June 9, 1870.

Characters

The best works of Charles Dickens are the treasures of world literature. It is impossible not to mention the characters from them. They had very interesting, quirky names. It is worth, for example, to recall Ebenezer Scrooge or Oliver Twist. Also David Copperfield, Samuel Pickwick and many others. Dickens's characters are so memorable, alive, that their names have become used to refer to something. Many are based on real people. For example, Mrs. Nickleby and Mr. Micawber, whose prototypes are Dickens' parents. Among the characters of the writer there is one more, he is very interesting, very big, very famous - and this is London. Dickens described the capital from all sides: from poor quarters to we althy suburbs, from small eateries on the outskirts to the lower Thames River.

Artworks

Dickens often idealized the characters, sentimental scenes contrasted with various ugly social moments and caricatures. If you list the best books of Charles Dickens, then in the first place (not chronologically), undoubtedly, "Oliver Twist". Neither violent orphanages nor gang membership undermine the image of the perfect boy.

Dickens claimed to use coincidences to create some kind of effect, either emphasizing the role of conduct or comic effect. For example, the family that rescued Oliver from the gang turned out to be his relatives. Is notjust a coincidence, this is a direct reference to the novels that the writer loved to read so much when he was young.

Charles is a popular novelist, best known. Approximately 200 films and various adaptations have been made based on his works. Some works were adapted for the stage during the writer's lifetime. Other writers appreciated Dickens' realism, satire, caricature and propaganda on behalf of the poor.

Jules Verne said Dickens was his favorite writer. Van Gogh was inspired by Dickens' novels, and he painted some paintings based on them. The artist once claimed that reading Dickens prevented him from committing suicide.

Note that the list of works by Charles Dickens is quite large. Best of them:

• The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club (published beginning April 1836) is the novelist's first work.
• Oliver Twist, which was published in February 1837.
• The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is a novel published in separate parts (there were 19 in total) from March 1838 to February 1839.
• Barnaby Rudge (1841).
• Martin Chuzzlewit is a novel also published in parts in 1843-1844.
• Dolby and Son saw the light of day in 1846.
• "David Copperfield" (1849).
• The historical novel A Tale of Two Cities was published in 1859.
• In 1866 the "Signal Man" was released.

Legacy

There are museums dedicated to the life of the writer and his work. There are also festivals. For example, in London there is a house-museum of the writer. In Portsmouth, this was the house in whichDickens is born. The original novels can be seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London).

The writer was against the erection of any monuments to him. However, in Philadelphia you can see a statue of Dickens and little Nellie.

Another sculpture is in Sydney. In Portsmouth, on the anniversary of the birth of the writer, a monument was erected with the support of his grandchildren. Also, the portrait of the writer flaunts on the English banknote.

According to the BBC, Charles Dickens is the forty-first in the list of the greatest inhabitants of Great Britain. Images of the writer and his books have also appeared on several postage stamps, including in the UK itself, the Soviet Union and other countries.

The Pickwick Papers

This book is one of the best works of Dickens. It is about eccentrics who travel around England in order to observe people. The head of the club is Mr. Pickwick. When the novel was published, it was a very big success. There was even a fashion for the clothes worn by the heroes of this work.

Oliver Twist

If you are interested in Dickens, then you can not ignore this novel. Oliver grew up an orphan, he had many hardships in life. In England at that time, orphans were treated unkindly, especially if they were beggars. Oliver had no parents, his home was the slums of London. Despite this, he was able to remain a kind boy, for which fate rewarded him.

Great Expectations

Philip Pirrip, known simply as Pip, wants to become a gentleman, achieve a position in society. However, his high hopes were not realized. There is a lot of cruelty in this world, and the money he got did not bring the desired results.

Christmas Stories

This is a collection of stories about various supernatural characters such as elves or spirits. Fairy tale and reality are connected and it is not known what is more terrible: reality or fantasy. The famous "Christmas Story" (sometimes called "Christmas Carol") also belongs to this cycle. Once upon a time there was a miser whose name was Scrooge. And he was so greedy that just horror. So, for example, he did not want to let people go to rest at Christmas. Not because he had something against religion, but because it was necessary for everyone to work!

In 2009, R. Zemeckis made an animated film based on Dickens' book, A Christmas Carol.

Hard Times

The action takes place in Coxtown, a city with a developed industry. All people have the same clothes, the same time of leaving the house, returning and the same shoes. Everything is the same. There is no religion, no faith, only numbers. Bounderby is a banker, he is very rich. One day a traveling circus comes to this city.

Bleak House

This book, of course, belongs to the best works of Dickens and opens the period of artistic maturity of the writer. It describes the Victorianera and British society. The reader can observe a peculiar cross-section of all strata of society: from the aristocracy to the poor and the world of the capital's gateways.

The life of David Copperfield, as told by himself

David grew up without a father, a stepfather appeared who was a tyrant and believed that David was his burden. At the school where the hero studied, Mr. Creakle, who used to sell hops, was his mentor. He had his own ideas about life, and he considered it necessary to convey them to the pupils.

Reviews

Where to start with the best novelist of the Victorian era? Everyone decides this question for himself. But, if you are at a loss, then first read the best books of Dickens. There is no shortage of reviews from critics and ordinary readers. The writer's contemporaries and ours spoke differently about Dickens. The writer attacked his era, society, its customs. Reading his novels, you can feel all the bitterness of his experiences. Dickens "cooks soup", which mixes humor, human characters, signs of the era, people's fates, psychology, emotional throwing and all this is generously seasoned with the soot of London.

For example, in the work "Nicholas Nickleby" Dickens wrote about school students who were constantly tormented by their teachers. When the novel saw the light, it made a splash. Teachers began to be checked, hotel owners also suffered.

Many scholars who devoted their writings to the literature of the Victorian era, studied the legacy of Dickens. Many compared his novels with the works of other authors. For example, Albert Canningcompared The Pickwick Club to Vanity Fair.

In his works you will not find knight's castles, but only London. It reflected the world of this city, along the streets of which the poor walked, the mansions of the rich stood. Dickens was able to combine his discoveries and the traditions of his predecessors.

Mystery Writer

The collection "The Mystery of Charles Dickens: Bibliographic Research" is a work dedicated to Dickens, including the translation of his works into Russian. The collection includes testimonies of contemporaries, articles about the novelist's stage performances, his contribution to literature, cycles and poems. Life is described, the best works of Dickens. It also lists when and by whom the translations into Russian were made. It is indicated which literature about the writer was published in Russian. The book is educational in nature, allows you to get acquainted with the work of Dickens, with his works, as well as find a list of useful literature.