The Companion to Oliver Twist

The Companion to Oliver Twist PDF Author: David Paroissien
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780748602728
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
"Oliver Twist (1837-9), Dickens's first social novel, introduced its original readers to the shadowy world of London's juvenile gangs, stealing for master criminals in return for food, accommodation, drink and promiscuous sex. Equally engaging were the novel's polemical comments on England's treatment of the poor, the need for order in the counties surrounding London and the importance of public health in the metropolis. David Paroissien's Companion to 'Oliver Twist' recreates these contexts for the modern reader." "Dickens's objections to legislation in 1834 which attempted to reform and revise England's Poor Laws dating from the sixteenth century are related to several concerns: his distrust of 'theories' of human nature proposed by the supporters of Jeremy Bentham, his belief that people should be tempted to virtue rather than bullied and threatened, and his deeply felt repulsion for the specific provisions of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834." "Drawing on government reports of the time and a range of sources not used before, Paroissien also describes how the urban poor buried their dead; the revolting conditions of some of London's worst slums like Field Lane and Jacob's Island; the vivid cant of thieves' slang and the brutal world of adolescent crime, drink, gambling and prostitution. Literary allusions and the suggested originals of characters are identified and, building a case on textual evidence, Paroissien establishes the site of Oliver's birthplace and the infamous workhouse in which he asked for more. The Companion shows convincingly the extraordinary extent to which Dickens drew on the actual world around him for his first sustained criticism of English society."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Companion to Oliver Twist

The Companion to Oliver Twist PDF Author: David Paroissien
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780748602728
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Get Book

Book Description
"Oliver Twist (1837-9), Dickens's first social novel, introduced its original readers to the shadowy world of London's juvenile gangs, stealing for master criminals in return for food, accommodation, drink and promiscuous sex. Equally engaging were the novel's polemical comments on England's treatment of the poor, the need for order in the counties surrounding London and the importance of public health in the metropolis. David Paroissien's Companion to 'Oliver Twist' recreates these contexts for the modern reader." "Dickens's objections to legislation in 1834 which attempted to reform and revise England's Poor Laws dating from the sixteenth century are related to several concerns: his distrust of 'theories' of human nature proposed by the supporters of Jeremy Bentham, his belief that people should be tempted to virtue rather than bullied and threatened, and his deeply felt repulsion for the specific provisions of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834." "Drawing on government reports of the time and a range of sources not used before, Paroissien also describes how the urban poor buried their dead; the revolting conditions of some of London's worst slums like Field Lane and Jacob's Island; the vivid cant of thieves' slang and the brutal world of adolescent crime, drink, gambling and prostitution. Literary allusions and the suggested originals of characters are identified and, building a case on textual evidence, Paroissien establishes the site of Oliver's birthplace and the infamous workhouse in which he asked for more. The Companion shows convincingly the extraordinary extent to which Dickens drew on the actual world around him for his first sustained criticism of English society."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

A Companion to Charles Dickens

A Companion to Charles Dickens PDF Author: David Paroissien
Publisher: LibreDigital
ISBN: 9780470691229
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 536

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Book Description
A Companion to Charles Dickens concentrates on the historical, ideological, and social forces that defined Dickens’s world. Puts Dickens’s work into its literary, historical, and social contexts Traces the development of Dickens’s career as a journalist and novelist Includes original essays by leading Dickensian scholars on each of Dickens’s fifteen novels Explores a broad range of topics, including criticisms of his novels, the use of history and law in his fiction, language, and the effect of political and social reform Examines Dickens's legacy and surveys the mass of secondary materials that has been generated in response and reverence to his writing

Dickens Companions

Dickens Companions PDF Author: Various Authors
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000806669
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 774

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Book Description
The Dickens Companions provide the most comprehensive annotation of the works of Charles Dickens ever undertaken. The factual annotation supplies information on the historical, literary and topical allusions which inform Dickens’s works, thus establishing sound foundations for further critical enquiry. For the scholar, they are invaluable research and reference tools. For the student and serious general reader, they are the essential authority on Dickens’s novels.

The Cambridge Companion to Charles Dickens

The Cambridge Companion to Charles Dickens PDF Author: John O. Jordan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107494192
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
The Cambridge Companion to Charles Dickens contains fourteen specially-commissioned chapters by leading international scholars, who together provide diverse but complementary approaches to the full span of Dickens's work, with particular focus on his major fiction. The essays cover the whole range of Dickens's writing, from Sketches by Boz through The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Separate chapters address important thematic topics: childhood, the city, and domestic ideology. Others consider formal features of the novels, including their serial publication and Dickens's distinctive use of language. Three final chapters examine Dickens in relation to work in other media: illustration, theatre, and film. Each essay provides guidance to further reading. The volume as a whole offers a valuable introduction to Dickens for students and general readers, as well as fresh insights, informed by recent critical theory, that will be of interest to scholars and teachers of the novels.

The Charles Dickens Companion

The Charles Dickens Companion PDF Author: BookCaps
Publisher: BookCaps Study Guides
ISBN: 162917341X
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 600

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Book Description
Charles Dickens create an entire world in his novels. If you are a Dickens fan or find yourself trying to remember whose who and from what novel, then this is a must have reference. This book includes a biography of Dickens, study guides, historical notes, character overviews, and plot summaries for the following novels: David Copperfield, Great Expectations, Hard Times, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, Bleak House.

The Cambridge Companion to Charles Dickens

The Cambridge Companion to Charles Dickens PDF Author: John O. Jordan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521669641
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
The Cambridge Companion to Charles Dickens offers a valuable introduction to Dickens for students and general readers.

A Dickens Companion

A Dickens Companion PDF Author: Norman Page
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349060046
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 374

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Book Description


A Companion to Charles Dickens

A Companion to Charles Dickens PDF Author: David Paroissien
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470691220
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 536

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Book Description
A Companion to Charles Dickens concentrates on the historical, ideological, and social forces that defined Dickens’s world. Puts Dickens’s work into its literary, historical, and social contexts Traces the development of Dickens’s career as a journalist and novelist Includes original essays by leading Dickensian scholars on each of Dickens’s fifteen novels Explores a broad range of topics, including criticisms of his novels, the use of history and law in his fiction, language, and the effect of political and social reform Examines Dickens's legacy and surveys the mass of secondary materials that has been generated in response and reverence to his writing

The Companion to 'A Tale of Two Cities'

The Companion to 'A Tale of Two Cities' PDF Author: Andrew Sanders
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000384756
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
This book, first published in 1988, reveals the great care Dickens took with the planning and preparation of A Tale of Two Cities and its roots. It also explores the aspects of Dickens’s life, especially his interest in private theatricals, which contributed to the genesis of the novel. For the first time the historical sources for the very individual account of the French Revolution presented in A Tale of Two Cities are examined, and the book investigates the novelist’s debt to French and English eye-witnesses. This Companion identifies the multitude of allusions to what Dickens often regarded as the whims of eighteenth-century justice, religion, philosophy, fashion and society. It provides the modern reader with both fundamental sources of information and a fascinating account of the creation of a complex historical novel.

The Companion to Hard Times

The Companion to Hard Times PDF Author: Margaret Simpson
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
Sixth volume in the Dickens Companions series, offering comprehensive annotation of the novel Hard Times.