Discovering Dickens

WHENEVER CLASSIC BOOKS were recommended to me during my childhood, I never bothered to read them because I hated to be told what to read by people who had no idea what interested me. Therefore, until a couple of months ago I had not read anything by highly acclaimed British authors such as the Brontes, Thomas Hardy, Jane Austen, Scott, Trollope, Thackeray, and Dickens. I have read and enjoyed English translations of French authors including Balzac, Flaubert, and de Maupassant.

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This summer (2024), we paid a visit to the delightful coastal town of Broadstairs in Kent. This place is rich in souvenirs of the author Charles Dickens (1812-1870). It was in this town that he worked on several of his novels. After our brief visit to Broadstairs, I was suddenly filled with the desire to begin reading something by Dickens to see what I have been missing for so many years, and to discover whether I ought to have followed the many recommendations I was given (during my youth) to read his work. I began with “Nicholas Nickleby” because some of it had been written in Broadstairs. After reading and enjoying this 600-page novel, I moved on to “Martin Chuzzlewit” (762 pages), which I have just finished. That I have already begun reading “Oliver Twist”, another novel by Dickens, shows that I have begun to like Dickens’s writing.

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I do not find that reading Dickens is easy-going. Often, he says what could be said in a few words in many sentences, thus spinning out the story. Another problem is keeping track of the vast numbers of characters in the stories. It felt to me that every few pages, a new character is introduced. Some of them appear for a few pages and then disappear for a long time, only to reappear much later. So, when they do reappear, it is sometimes difficult to remember anything about them. As for the plots, they are complex, but fascinating. Despite the lack of conciseness, the huge number of characters, and the length of the novels, Dickens knew how to keep the reader engaged from start to finish. He had to do this because at first his stories were published as monthly episodes in magazines. If he had not kept his readers engaged one month, then they might not have bought the next episode a month later. Even though the plot acquires more and more sometimes seemingly unconnected strands, I felt instinctively that eventually they would coalesce. How Dickens kept track of what he was writing and did not ‘lose the plot’ amazes me. And how well he holds the reader’s attention is also a marvel.

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Dickens’s mastery of detail amazes me. It is fascinating to read how parts of London, which I know well, were when Dickens was writing about them. His minute descriptions of aspects of daily life in early Victorian England are of great interest. His ability to portray villainous people is something else I have enjoyed. The villains and crooks are, for me, the most enjoyable of the characters in the two novels I have already read. Page after page, I realised that in the end they would receive their comeuppance, but how this happens eventually is a wonderful surprise that is revealed in the final pages of the books.

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Would I recommend reading Dickens? Well, I have been enjoying what I have read so far. To those who read quickly, I would strongly suggest trying Dickens. But for those who read slowly, I am not so sure. My reading habits have changed over the years. Had I attempted Dickens when I was younger, I doubt I would have read an entire novel. Now, in my retirement, I find that I am reading faster. Although Dickens should not be read too fast because of the incredibly large amount of detail he includes, I find that I can now cope with his writing and enjoy it. I am glad that I ignored the many who tried to persuade me to read Dickens when I was a child. I am pleased that at long last I have discovered how much fun it is to read his novels. I shall certainly be carrying something by Dickens to read during my next long-haul aeroplane journey.?