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Charles Dickens


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Cover art for CHARLES DICKENS
CHILDREN'S
Released: Aug. 1, 1993

"Brief bibliography (standard adult works; three books for young readers; 14 of Dickens's most familiar works). (Biography/Picture book. 8+)"
 The authors follow their splendid Bard of Avon (1992, ALA Notable) with an equally handsome book on the beloved novelist. Read full book review >
Cover art for DAVID COPPERFIELD
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 1995
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Alan Marks

"Marks's storytelling skills are further demonstrated by the different sizes of the pictures, their distribution, and layout—on the whole, they evocatively conjure this hearty tale, and will send readers off to the original. (Picture book. 8-12)"
 A more or less self-contained excerpt from the novel, in a creative abridgement done by Dickens for one of his public readings (Anthea Bell's afterword provides notes about these performances and the texts Dickens prepared for them). Read full book review >
Cover art for THE LIFE OF OUR LORD
FICTION
Released: Nov. 1, 1999

"Piety for mopheads."
Dickens rivals Uriah Heep at his —umblest in this mawkish rehearsal of the Christ story. Read full book review >
Cover art for A CHRISTMAS CAROL
CHILDREN'S
Released: Sept. 1, 2000
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by William Geldart

"More colorful, if less scholarly, than The Annotated Christmas Carol (1989), this is not only well-suited to assignment-driven reading, but is likely to entice some new young fans into the Dickensian fold. (Fiction. 11+)"
Over 150 years old, it is no surprise that Dickens's classic tale is filled with details and references that have become obscure—and so, voila! Read full book review >
Cover art for THE CHILD’S STORY
CHILDREN'S
Released: Oct. 1, 2000
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Harvey Chan

"Still among the greatest of "crossover" writers, Dickens broadens the appeal of this most ancient of metaphors by casting it as a tale told by a child—and it positively begs to be read aloud. (Picture book. 9-11, adult)"
Chan (Music for the Tsar of the Sea, 1998, etc.) illustrates one of Dickens's lesser-known Christmas stories (in this case there's only a passing reference to the holiday) with lustrous, full-page scenes of figures in antique dress, slightly hazy as if viewed through a scrim, and moving through shadowy woods. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE RAG & BONE SHOP
FICTION
Released: Sept. 1, 2001

"A tale of initially great but subsequently diminished expectations."
An ambitious first novel from short-fiction writer and editor Rackham—a multivoiced story of Charles Dickens's long affair with actress Ellen Ternan—offers a saucily imagined but uneven view of life behind the screen of Victorian propriety. Read full book review >
Cover art for CHARLES DICKENS
NONFICTION
Released: May 13, 2002

"A successful attempt to deepen the way we read Dickens, with clues to finding him in his own characters and words."
Pulitzer-winning novelist Smiley (Horse Heaven, 2000, etc.) brings her fluid prose to a fresh and insightful look, through a psychological lens, at the life of Dickens. Read full book review >
Cover art for DROOD
FICTION
Released: Feb. 9, 2009

"A lively entertainment, reminiscent of Nicholas Meyer's Seven-Percent Solution--and a worthy rejoinder to Dickens's swan song."
A suspenseful and spooky descent into the last days of Charles Dickens, who expired before he could complete his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE LAST DICKENS
FICTION
Released: March 24, 2009

"A pleasing whodunit that resolves nicely, bookending Dan Simmons's novel Drood (2009) as an imaginative exercise in what might be called alternative literary history."
A rousing yarn of opium, book pirating, murder most foul, man-on-man biting and other shenanigans--and that's just for starters. Read full book review >
Cover art for BECOMING DICKENS
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 17, 2011

"An insightful argument occasionally marred by somewhat tangential and glib analysis."
A literary biography of Charles Dickens focused on his life and work during the 1830s. Read full book review >
Cover art for CHARLES DICKENS
NONFICTION
Released: Oct. 31, 2011

"Superbly organized, comprehensive and engrossing from start to finish—a strong contender for biography of the year."
Like Shakespeare, Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was an overachiever of genius, and his life was as eventful, dramatic and character-filled as any of his novels. Read full book review >
Cover art for CHARLES DICKENS AND THE STREET CHILDREN OF LONDON
CHILDREN'S
Released: Nov. 29, 2011

"A lively biography and an interesting lens through which to see a venerated author. (source notes, bibliography, author's note, index) (Nonfiction 10-14)"
A well-researched biography explores how Charles Dickens used his stories to effect social change for London's most destitute children. Read full book review >