"No one can be lonely who has a book for company." ~ Nelle Reagan

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Happy 200th Mr. Dickens!!

February 7, 1812 - June 9, 1870
Today is Charles Dickens' 200th birthday!  Born February 7, 1812 at Landport, in Portsea, which is near Portsmouth, England.  He married Catherine Thomson Hogarth on April 2, 1836 and together they had ten children.  He penned 20 novels and a selection of short story collections, non-fiction, poetry and plays.  He is known as the best author of the Victorian era and praised for his characters complex personalities and for addressing the trials of the times including poverty and was an advocate for social reform.  He is appreciated for his ability to include humour within the realism of Victorian England.

Some dislike his writing, claiming it to be too bleak, but he wrote what he saw...what he knew.  If we but understand the era within which he wrote, we will comprehend and appreciate his novelizations of such themes that endure today, just as his books do.



Novels

*(source:  Wikipedia)


Toronto resident, Dan Calinescu, a retired teacher, has been collecting Charles Dickens works for many years and has compiled a "completist collection" of Charles Dickens.  A completist collection is not limited to only one copy of an edition, but rather, a few.  View this impressive collection here:



My favourite Charles Dickens novel is A Christmas Carol.  For years I have enjoyed this novel, especially at Christmas when I try to watch a film version of the same.  What is your favourite Dickens novel?

Read Charles Dickens Bibliography on Wikipedia.

1 comment:

  1. Have you ever heard of a Hardbound Nicholas Nickleby written in Shorthand?? I have it, and it is dated mid 1800's. I picked it up while in Europe a few years ago. Hope you might have some insight...

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